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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



Shop and Foundry 
Management 



BY 

STUART DEAN 

Superintendent Dean Bros. Steam Pump Works 



THE IRON AGE 

NEW YORK 
1913 



TS\55 

3 a- 



Copyright, 1913, 
By DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY 



13-19^ 



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SLS* 



>CU«5 4 L40 



PREFACE 

FOR the most part this volume consists of articles 
written for The Iron Age, Mr. Dean's purpose 
being to present everyday shop and foundry 
methods that have resulted in lower cost and greater 
output. As superintendent of the Dean Brothers Steam 
Pump Works, Indianapolis, Ind., in the past thirteen 
years, the author has constantly aimed at four things: 
Reduction in cost of production; increase in plant ca- 
pacity through greater efficiency ; quick deliveries, and 
a perfect product. 

Mr. Dean, who is nephew of the proprietors, was put 
in charge of the Indianapolis plant thirteen years ago 
at the age of 25. The product is pumps ranging from 
24 to 50,000 pounds, some of them designed by the 
author, who also designed and built a number of special 
machines to turn out the work. Among these is a 6-foot 
boring and milling machine having a 48-inch milling cut- 
ter head. Mr. Dean worked in every department of the 
Indianapolis plant. He had a common school and high 
school education. Working in the shop in vacations 
from an early age, before he was out of school he had 
learned the machinist's trade. At eighteen he quit school 
and went to work in the foundry, learning this trade. 
He was specially instructed in all branches of operation, 
with the idea of eventually taking charge. 

In setting out to record some of the results of his ex- 
perience Mr. Dean planned to set forth in compact form 
what may be called the economics of shop operation ; to 
indicate on what lines he had succeeded in increasing 



4 PREFACE 

output in all departments and in reducing overhead ex- 
penses. The plant in which he has done his work em- 
ploys about 200 men and is of the right size to enable the 
man in charge to learn all the practical details. It is no 
theory, therefore, that he presents, and extended discus- 
sion has been avoided, the purpose being to point out 
how and where money can be saved and the efficiency of 
the whole productive machine increased. 

The Publisher 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

The Successful Operation of an Industrial Plant. . . 9 

The Seven Points of Success — Making a Fortune 

Duties of the Factory Superintendent 12 

What the Superintendent Ought and Ought Not to Do; How He 
Keeps Track of Production; The Superintendent's Daily Routine; 
Systematizing for the Daily Investigations; Supplying Material 
and Tools to the Machine; Information to be Kept in Graphical 
Form; Department Watching 

The Selection and Treatment of Men 26 

Qualities in Department Heads; Giving Free Rein to the Capable 
Men; Fitting the Man to the Work; Taking Men to Task for Mis- 
takes; Helping Employees in Trouble; Lifting the Esprit de 
Corps; Buying Work from the Workmen; Employer's Acts 
Having an Adverse Influence; A Quarterly Method of Sorting 
Employees; Training One's Own Skilled Help; The Employment 
of Boys; Shop Thieving; Increasing Wages with Time of Service; 
How the Wage Increase System Works 

Piecework and Premium Systems 38 

When Piecework Is Not Advisable; Eliminating False Moves; 
Setting the Time on a Piece; Handling Work by the Specialist 
System 

Production System for a 200 Employee Plant 43 

What Too Much System Did; Conditions Which Demand a Rout- 
ing System; System for Cost Keeping and Shop Routing; Bill of 
Material; Shop Material Routing Clerk; Casting Order; Machine 
Order; Foundry System; Taking Care of Patterns; Short Cuts 

Making an Accurate Delivery Promise 63 

Determining the Accumulation of Work in the Department; Fig- 
uring the Time of Completing an Article; Providing a Date Sched- 
ule for Rush Orders; Utilizing Complaints from Customers 



6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Cost Keeping in a Factory 69 

Checking Up Time Slips; Checking Hours and Wages; Separating 
Department Charges; Apportioning Time to Job Numbers; As- 
certaining Cost of Individual Parts; Ascertaining Cost of Complete 
Machine; Use Made of Cost-Per-Pound Records; Figuring Pro 
Rate or Overhead Expense 

Designing Patterns to Save Machining 89 

When Not to Save Metal in the Product; Pattern Drafts; De- 
signing with an Eye to the Cores; One Pattern for a Number of 
Shapes; Allowance for Finish in Matching; Design Details to 
Save Machining Work; Designing to Save Time in Drilling; 
Designing to Save Lathe Time; Study Weaknesses; Some Fun- 
damentals in Design; Screw Threads; Clearance Around Nuts 

Economies in Foundry Mixing and Melting 103 

Permutations of the Five Metalloids; Silicon; Manganese; Carbon; 
Phosphorus; Sulphur; Scrap Iron and Scrap Steel; Changes that 
Occur in the Cupola; Coke; Taking Samples for Analysis; Metal 
and Fuel Charges; Causes of Cold Iron; Hot Iron; General 
Directions; Analysis and Expert Advice 

Ways of Losing and Saving Castings 119 

Gas Bubbles in Castings; Cold Iron; Internal Shrinkage and 
Sponginess; Gating and Pouring; Dirt in Castings 

Economies in Mold Making in the Foundry 127 

Unit Output for Different Kinds of Molding; Scope of Different 
Molding Methods; The Squeezer Molding Machine; Economies 
with the Squeezer Molding Machine; The Case of the Jarring 
Machine; Working a Gang with the Jarring Machine; Wet Black- 
ing of Molds 

Arranging Patterns for Molding Machines 137 

Procedure to Get Matching of Patterns; Follow-Boards for the 
Jarring Machine; Suggested Sizes of Flasks; The Question of 
Output; A Mixture for White Metal Patterns 

Making a Success of the Machine Shop. 147 

Where to Look for Avoidable Losses; Savings in the Foundry; Elim- 
inating False Movements; A 24-pound Pump of 18 Pieces for $1; 
Manufacture for a Bottomless Selling Price; Spending Money for 
Equipment; When a New Machine is Warranted; Buy Equipment 
in Dull Times; Put Only Part of the Profits into Improvements; 
Equipment Which is a Constant Expense; The Value of a Night Shift 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 7 

Getting the most Out of the Shop 159 

What Working a Machine to Capacity Accomplished; Changes 
Possible in Overhead Charges; Ideal Conditions in the Machine 
Shop; Manufacturing Losses that Never Show; Determining 
Best Method of Operation 

Cutting the Cost of Power 169 

Power Loss from Engine to Tool Point; Advantages of the Three- 
Phase Motor; Motor Costs and Efficiencies; Smoke Prevention 

Little Economies of Machine Operation 175 

Automatic vs. Standard Machines; Fitting Allowances; Three 
Machine Shop Suggestions; Tool Holders; General Machine Speci- 
fications to be Laid Down; Tool Pressure 

The Capacity of Metal Working Machines 181 

Tool Steel Tests; The Best Shape of Tool; Things the Superin- 
tendent Should Know; Accumulating Machine Data; Holding 
Machines to their Work; Superintendent vs. Machine Salesmen 

Selecting the Correct Machine for the Work 189 

The Field of the Grinding Machine; Advantages of the Milling 
Machine; Different Styles of the Milling Machine; Cutter Heads; 
The Gang Drilling Machine; Limit Machine Production by 
Strength of Piece Worked 

The Machine Finishing of Cylinders 197 

Boring the Cylinders; Using the Drilling Machine; Advantages 
of Different Machines; Tapping the Cylinders 

Buying, Selling and Advertising Maxims 203 

Watching the Cost of Material in Stock Bins; Manufacturing 
Finished Machines, Not Finished Parts; The Selling Department; 
Questions for the Traveling Man; Routing the Traveling Men; 
Selling Just as Tangible as Manufacturing; Personality of the Sales- 
man; Points to Be Made in Advertising; Differences in Pamphlets 
and Catalogues 



ARTICLE I 
ACHIEVING INDUSTRIAL SUCCESS 

Seven Cardinal Points— Profit the Object of Every 
Business Enterprise — Management the Basis of 
Success — To-day's Opportunities Pre-eminent 

PEOPLE say of a successful man, "He is always 
lucky" or "He hit it just right." Luck is not the 
cause of success. Success is due to management 
and nothing else. One of the largest wagon makers in 
this country started business at a time when other wagon 
firms were failing. 

A wheel works, on the point of failing, was taken over 
by the bookkeeper and a foreman. The two men in time 
paid off all the debts, and made a large fortune and 
retired while still comparatively young. This was 
management — not luck. Rockefeller would have been 
successful no matter what business he might have chosen, 
because he had great managing ability. 

The Seven Points of Success 

To achieve success, seven factors must be kept in 
mind. Attention must be given to all of them. These 
factors are : 

1. — Publicity. Keep your firm's name, its location 
and its product in every possible buyer's mind. 

2. — Selling Price. Lower the selling price as business 
gets dull. Raise it as you get busy. To prevent selling 
too low fix the selling price at a point high enough to 
turn only one-quarter of your inquiries into orders. 



10 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

3. — Buying. Save all you can in buying, both in 
price and in quantity. Keep as small a stock of material 
on hand as possible. 

4.— Employees and Assistants. Surround yourself 
only with capable men. 

5.-— Design. Design the parts of your product so 
that the machine work and assembing will take the least 
possible time. Continue to change the design as long as 
improvement can be made. 

6. — Low Manufacturing Cost. Never allow the time 
for making a piece to be greater than the shortest record 
time for this piece. If it takes longer, make the foremen 
explain why, and if there is a fault in the machine tool, 
jig, or material, correct the fault. This will bring pro- 
fits, 

7. — Thorough Inspection. Know absolutely that 
every machine shipped is perfect. This will give you a 
reputation for fine machinery, which is the best and 
cheapest advertisement you can have. Inspection of 
parts will save expense in assembling, and that will re- 
duce your manufacturing costs. 

Making a Fortune 

The object of every enterprise is to make money — to 
make a fortune, if possible — for the owners. Luck plays 
a small part in its ultimate success or failure. Good 
management and the observance of all the seven points 
of success determine the final result. 

Years ago our forefathers moved from rugged New 
England, with its fields full of boulders, into States far- 
ther west, where the virgin soil raised immense crops and 
made many people rich. The generation following 
looked back and said, "What opportunities there were 
then!" Each succeeding generation still looks back on 
the preceding one, and says the same thing. 



ACHIEVING INDUSTRIAL SUCCESS H 

To-day we look back at the prices secured for our 
product 30 years ago, and say, "What an opportunity 
there was for making money then." At that time the 
price of manufactured machinery was 50 to 100 per cent, 
higher than it is now, for the same machinery. As a 
matter of fact, the opportunity for making money at 
the present day is greater than it ever was. A firm man- 
ufacturing a competitive article can make a comfortable 
fortune in from 10 to 20 years, if it can sell to the full 
capacity of the plant and get the full output of the 
machines, tools and assemblers. The way in which it is 
possible to secure these desired results will be explained 
at more length in the articles dealing with machine shop 
operation and management. 



ARTICLE II 
DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 

How He Ought to Study Details of Department 
Operation — Graphical Production Records and 
Their Use to Secure Co-operation of Foremen 

FULL authority should center in a works manager 
or superintendent. He should be a member of 
the firm. Many a company has come to grief be- 
cause it did not have a practical man in the firm, but de- 
pended on hiring its practical knowledge. 

The superintendent's office should be located at the 
most prominent point in the works, so that he will be 
very accessible to every one. "The master's eye enrich- 
eth the soil." If he locates himself off in the main office 
many important matters about the works that he should 
be informed of will never be brought before him. The 
men will say to themselves: "I will tell 'Super' the 
next time he comes around," but by that time the whole 
matter is entirely forgotten. The superintendent's office 
should be of glass and should be considerably raised so 
that he can look over the whole shop at a glance. Papers 
on his desk cannot be seen by any one standing outside if 
his office is raised. 

What the Superintendent Ought and Ought Not to Do 

The shop-material routing clerk should be located with 
or near the superintendent. The superintendent's duty 
is to increase the output per man with no reduction in the 
quality of the product. This is the superintendent's most 
important duty. I am afraid that we think of him as a 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 13 

busy man at his desk or out in the plant directing the 
work, asking how this is getting along, what is lacking 
here, etc.; pushing those jobs forward that the cus- 
tomers are in the greatest hurry for. This is what the 
office would like to have him do, and there is a tempta- 
tion for him to do it. When he does so, though, he is 
out of his place ; he has dropped to a mere routing clerk. 

To study output per man and quality of product is 
the superintendent's most important work. If he does 
not spend three-fourths of his time on this subject he is 
not earning his salary. 

The superintendent should be a faddist on cutting 
speeds and feeds and the number of cubic inches of metal 
removed per minute. He should keep in mind that at 
the point of the cutters and in the fixtures that cut down 
the idle moments between cutting operations lie the 
firm's profits. 

He should be everlastingly correcting the allowance 
of finish on the patterns, so that the rule can be followed 
of taking two cuts and only two, for any one operation. 
Taking two cuts where three were previously permitted 
will cut one-third off the machining time. 

He should be constantly studying the design of his 
companj'-'s product, changing it to eliminate labor in 
manufacturing. The brains of the concern should be 
kept on this work as much as possible. 



How He Keeps Track of Production 

A complete itemized set of reports, to be presented in 
these pages later, that give in detail the amount of work 
turned out by each department and by each class of men 
in each department, should be handed to the superin- 
tendent on the first of each quarter. These reports will 
enable him to catch immediately a dropping off of out- 
put per man in any department, and to correct the 



14 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

trouble. From these reports he will know which are his 
best foremen — the ones to be shoved ahead. 

The superintendent should give all his orders in writ- 
ing, keeping a copy of each for follow-up. He can 
never assume that his orders will be carried out without 
being followed up, nor must he try to depend on his 
memory for his following-up system. A good system 
is for him to have a spike file on his desk on which he 
sticks copies of all hurry-up orders. The first thing 
each morning he goes over these orders with his assistant, 
who tells him which orders have been carried out and 
which not, and the reason why not. 

All notes that refer to orders that need not or cannot 
be attended to immediately he will file in one of three 
pigeon holes; one marked "First of Month," one marked 
"Fifteenth of Month," and one marked "First of the 
Quarter." Filing in these three places for future refer- 
ence is a better way than filing in a daily tickler, as the 
notes are brought up only on certain days far apart. 
The superintendent thus keeps clear of this clerical work 
on all other days. 

The Superintendent's Daily Routine 

The superintendent must keep in mind that all clerical 
work that he attends to is dead loss to his firm. He must 
look at it in the light of a necessary evil. A very good 
system that will save him time is to carry around a fold- 
ing partitioned pocket book with divisions in it that re- 
present the various factory divisions. Into these com- 
partments he drops the notes referring to work in these 
departments. Everything in the plant can then be at- 
tended to in one trip through the plant. 

A suggested daily routine would be as follows : 
1. Take all the notes for the day from the tickler or 
spike file. 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 15 

2. Assort them, placing those in the pigeon holes or 
tickler that are for the future, and those for the day in 
the folding pocket book, to be taken around the plant. 

3. Pass over the order sheets to the shipping depart- 
ment for those machines that are to be shipped on the 
day. 

4. Take the folding pocket book through all depart- 
ments. Rush up the work that is lagging back. 

5. After this is done take up the desk work and the 
new original work. 

Systematizing for the Daily Investigations 

The superintendent's range of eyesight being limited 
to the small area of a few feet around him as he walks 
through the plant makes it necessary for him to depend 
on something more far-seeing than his eyesight to keep 
track of conditions in the plant. These department rec- 
ords give him this insight to all conditions. They are a 
continual watch over the whole plant. 

Each day the assistant superintendent should ask the 
machine foreman: 

1. What troubles are you having from faulty foun- 
dry work, or bad material? 

2. What fixtures and appliances do you need to carry 
on the work in a better way? 

3. On what castings could the amount of finish be 
reduced? 

He should ask the assembling foreman : 

1. What troubles are you having with the work from 
faulty workmanship or material? 

2. What pattern changes or changes of design could 
be made to eliminate assembling ? 

3. What parts are lacking to complete the erection of 
machines now being assembled? 



16 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

The answers to these questions should be given to the 
superintendent each day in order that he may take the 
matter up with the proper parties. If this is done each 
dajr it will make a material difference in the profits at 
the end of the year. 

The assistant superintendent should keep copies of 
the record cost cards of all the parts of the popular-sized 
machines that the firm turns out. All new cost cards he 
will compare to the master cost cards. Any falling down 
will require an explanation from the foremen. Particu- 
lar cases he will report to the superintendent. 

Supplying Material and Tools to the Machine 

To turn out work with the least loss of time it is 
important to have a full week's work ahead at each ma- 
chine tool; otherwise, the rate of output will drop. It is 
impossible to handle the supply to the machines to such 
a nicety that one can get along with less. Crowd to- 
gether the machines which work on small pieces. Leave 
plenty of space around the machines which do large 
work. 

A number of large machines set around a space com- 
mon to them all will require less total area than if set 
apart, each with its own separate storage floor. 

There might be a card or order system at each ma- 
chine which will tell the workman what his next job is 
and what is the job that follows it. He will then be able 
to reduce the idle time of the machine between jobs. He 
can plan his work, get his drawings, tools, straps, bolts, 
etc. If there is a fixture or jig he can get this from the 
toolroom, and he can get the piece itself ready to put 
into the machine. If there is anything wrong with the 
tools or jigs there will be time to have them repaired. 

A good system is to have a row of hooks on a board 
at each machine and hang the orders on these hooks in 
the order that the jobs are to be done. The system can 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 17 

be elaborated. The assistant machine foreman can pass 
from machine to machine and hang different colored 
tags over the orders, signifying whether the tools and 
fixtures are all in condition for the job, or whether they 
need grinding or repairing. A white tag hung on an 
order would mean that the casting or piece is at the 
machine and the tools are all ready to carry out the 
work. A red tag would mean that the casting is at the 
machine but that the tools for the job are in the tool- 
maker's department being ground or repaired. A blue 
tag would mean that the casting or piece is at the ma- 
chine, but the tools have not been inspected as yet to see 
that they are in fit condition to carry on the job. No 
tag hanging over the order slip would mean that the 
casting or piece has not yet arrived at the machine, al- 
though it is expected. 

If such a system is carried out the workman can take 
the very best advantage of his work. He will be able to 
use some of his loafing time -advantageously to the firm, 
and this will show at the end of the year in increased 
plant capacity and profits. 

Information to be Kept in Graphical Form 

The superintendent should use graphic diagrams for 
as many of his tables as he can. They present a picture 
of conditions in a most comprehensive manner where 
mere tabulated figures fail. These graphic tables should 
be in a loose-leaf book so that extensions can be made. 
In this book he should have the following, shown graph- 
ically. They should go back as far in the history of the 
firm as he can get the information : 

1. Pounds Shipped. Pounds of finished machines 
shipped by the firm each quarter of a year. 

2. Total Hours. Total hours put in by the workmen 
each quarter. 



18 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

3. Machine Hours. Machine department hours quar- 
terly. 

4. Erecting Hours. Erecting department hours 
quarterly. 

5. Pattern Hours. Pattern hours quarterly. 

6. Foundry Hours. Total foundry hours quarterly. 

7. Non-Productive Hours. All hours quarterly not 
taken care of in 3, 4, 5 and 6. 

Divide the number of pounds in the first table by the 
hours in each of tables Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The quo- 
tients give the number of pounds of finished machines 
that each man's labor helps to turn out per hour. Multi- 
plying this by the hours in the work day gives the pounds 
of finished machines manufactured for each man's day's 
labor. This gives the following graphic diagram tables : 

Tables of Labor Production 

8. The Whole Plant. The number of pounds of fin- 
ished machines turned out by the plant daily, averaged 
per man. 

9. Machine Man. The number of pounds of finished 
pieces each machine man turns out per day. 

10. Erector. The number of pounds of finished ma- 
chines each erector turns out per day. 

11. Pattern Maker. The number of pounds of fin- 
ished machines being made for each day's work of a 
pattern maker. 

12. Foundryman. The number of pounds of finished 
machines manufactured for each day's labor in the foun- 
dry per man. 

13. Other Help (N on-Productive) . The number of 
pounds of finished machines manufactured per man for 
each day's labor of help other than already enumerated. 

From tables Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, especially 
from Nos. 9, 10 and 13, the superintendent can see ex- 
actly what improvement each foreman is making in his 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 19 

department. The superintendent can commend the ones 
that have made progress and give a ginger talk to those 
whose showing is poor. 

The same system of tables can be worked out on the 
basis of the proportion of the wages to the output, thus : 
14. Quarterly pay-roll. 15. Machinemen's pay-roll 
quarterly. 16. Erecting men's pay-roll quarterly. 17. 
Pattern pay-roll quarterly. 18. Foundry pay-roll quar- 
terly. 19. Quarterly pay-roll for the non-productive 
labor or all help not already covered. 

Tables of Labor Cost of Product 

Divide the pay-roll in each of the above groups of em- 
ployees (Nos. 9 to 19 inclusive) by the number of 
pounds of finished machines shipped, No. 1, and multi- 
ply by 100. The result gives the pay-roll-cost in each 
department for 100 pounds of finished machines shipped. 
It is better to take 100 pounds rather than 1 pound as a 
basis for the tables because it gives a larger figure for 
the result, and any small change from quarter to quarter 
will be more noticeable. This gives us the following 
tables : 

20. Total plant labor cost for each 100 pounds of fin- 
ished machines. 

21. Machine labor cost for each 100 pounds of fin- 
ished machines. 

22. Erecting labor cost for each 100 pounds of fin- 
ished machines. 

23. Pattern labor cost on each 100 pounds of finished 
machines. 

24. Foundry labor cost for each 100 pounds of fin- 
ished machines. 

25. Non-productive cost on each 100 pounds of fin- 
ished machines. 

Watch the hours in relation to the tonnage output 
rather than the wage relation to the tonnage. Thinking 



2Q SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

too much about the wage side of the business will end 
in not giving men raises at the proper time and in losing 
the best men and keeping good-for-nothings. High 
priced men are by far the cheapest. In rare cases under- 
paid men will work for the interest of the firm, but gen- 
erally they more than get even by shirking. Decrease the 
hours and increase the tonnage and the wage cost will 
take care of itself. 

Tables of Foundry Operations 

The separate divisions of the foundry should be 
watched by tables based on monthly records instead of 
quarterly ones, as follows : 

26. Total number of pounds of castings reported 
made by the foundry. 

27. Number of pounds of castings thrown out by the 
machine shop due to bad foundry work. These are to be 
deducted from the castings in table No. 26 and give 
table No. 28. 

28. Number of pounds of good castings made by the 
foundry. 

29. Number of pounds of iron charged into the 
cupola. 

30. Number of pounds of scrap from the foundry 
(sprues, risers and castings that turned out bad in the 
foundry). The figures had better be gotten by a pro- 
cess of elimination rather than by direct weighing. Take 
from the total scrap charged into the cupola the amount 
of scrap obtained from the machine shop plus the 
bought scrap. This gives the scrap that came from the 
foundry. 

31. Number of pounds of castings the foundry 
should have reported as made, barring the loss of iron in 
the cupola, the dump and shot iron in the foundry and 
cleaning room, the figures being obtained by subtracting 
the figures of No. 30 from those of No. 29. 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 21 

This cycle of foundry weight tables can be used as a 
check on the weighing and is valuable in keeping the 
weigh men accurate. If they know that you have a 
rough check on them they will be careful. The follow- 
ing men are checked: The man who weighs bought 
scrap iron; the man who weighs castings thrown back 
from the machine shop ; the men who weigh the castings 
made by the foundry, and the man who weighs the 
charges for the cupola. I know of a case where this 
system of checking discovered the crookedness of a foun- 
dry foreman who was sending in reports of weights of 
castings made by the foundry higher than the actual 
amount so as to make the casting cost appear low. 

Further subdivisions should be made as follows : 

32. Total foundry hours. 

33. Total molders' hours. 

34. Hours foundry helping. 

35. Hours casting cleaning. 

36. Hours coreroom. 

37. Hours of other foundry help (crane men, cupola 
men, foremen, etc. ) . 

Dividing the weight in table No. 28 by the number of 
hours in tables Nos. 32 to 37, inclusive, and multiplying 
by the number of hours in the working day gives, the 
number of pounds of castings worked on or helped on 
for each day for each man in any of the groups of men 
in the foundry. This gives the following tables : 

38. The day's output of each molder. 

39. The number of pounds of castings each foundry 
helper helps on each day. 

40. The number of pounds of castings each casting 
cleaner cleans each day. 

41. The number of pounds of castings a day each man 
in the coreroom makes cores for. In this table the core- 



22 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

room helpers and foremen are not separated from the 
core makers as it would be a useless refinement. 

42. The number of pounds of castings turned out per 
day per capita of all other help (cupola, crane and foun- 
dry foremen). 

The same system of tables can be worked out on the 
basis of wages, thus : 

43. Total foundry pay-roll, including in this the pay- 
roll of No. 48. 

44. Total molders' pay-roll. 

45. Helpers' pay-roll. 

46. Coreroom pay-roll. 

47. Crane, cupola and foremen's pay-roll. 

48. Pay-roll spent in other departments for doing 
foundry repair work. 

Dividing the pay-roll amounts in Nos. 43 to 48, in- 
clusive, by the weights of good castings turned out (No. 
28) and multiplying by 100 gives the labor cost on 100 
pounds of good castings made by each man each day in 
any one group of men. This gives the following: 

49. Total labor cost on 100 pound castings. 

50. Molding cost per 100 pound castings. 

51. Helping cost per 100 pound castings. 

52. Core cost per 100 pound castings. 

53. Crane cupola and foremen labor cost per 100 
pound castings. 

54. Foundry repair labor cost for each 100 pounds of 
castings. 

These graphic tables are not so much work to take 
care of as would seem at a glance, for with the exception 
of the foundry they come up quarterly only. This infor- 
mation is laid on the superintendents desk by the book- 
keeping and cost-keeping departments in sheet form. 

Down the left-hand edge of each of these sheets are 
given the names of the items and the amounts are placed 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 23 

in columns at the right. The sheets have spaces for each 
of the four quarters of the year, for the total year and 
for the previous year, the items being reduced to the 
quarterly rate, so that comparisons can readily be made. 

The superintendent should transcribe these items to 
his graphic- diagram loose-leaf book with his own hand. 
This will bring the various changes of conditions 
throughout the plant home to him in a much stronger 
way than if his assistant transcribed them. From these 
graphic reports the superintendent can catch the slip- 
ping backward of any department before it has gone too 
far. 

A foreman who is a genius will improve his record in 
the face of a change in the class of work that requires 
increased labor per pound of product. The graphic table 
line will continue to climb. 

It is a splendid idea to give each foreman a quarterly 
written statement of the number of pounds of finished 
work his department averages per work day per man. 
This acts as a spur to the foremen. The foremen take 
the keenest interest in these reports. To them the reports 
are a tangible statement which they can compare with 
their records of previous years. These reports keep re- 
minding them that any hours wasted will injure their 
record. A lazy man, a man who spoils work, or a slow 
man will not be tolerated, because such men increase 
hours without increasing the pounds output. 

The foremen will call the superintendent's attention 
to faults that hold the work back, such as ill-shaped cast- 
ings, requiring hand chipping ; too much finish allowance 
l>y the pattern shop, obliging the machine department to 
take three cuts where two would have been enough, or 
inaccurate work from preceding departments which 
consumes time in correction. I remember a machine 
foreman's remark when forced to throw away a casting 



24 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

that had turned out bad after machining. "Look at my 
hours being thrown into the scrap box!" One foreman 
was so interested in his report that he always carried it 
around under his work cap. 

Department Watching 

Once every two years, or if he can see his way clear 
to do it once every year, the superintendent should spend 
a full month in each department. He should get there 
every day at whistle time in the morning and stay in the 
department until the close in the evening, criticising and 
making improvements. He should let everything else 
drop and take up one department at a time in this way. 

Of course the average superintendent will say: "Oh, 
this is absolutely impossible. I have my regular duties 
to perform each day." What are these regular duties? 
They are all mere clerical duties which he should not be 
doing at all. 

The superintendent should know how to use an as- 
sistant and should throw all simple work and statistical 
work upon him. This will leave the superintendent free 
to do original work and improvement work. The as- 
sistant must have an absolutely accurate mind. He must 
be fearless in pressing the work forward that the super- 
intendent wishes done. 

His next question will be, "What will become of the 
work in the other departments if I never go into them 
for a month?" He can take them up some following 
month and really do some good in them. The improve- 
ment that the superintendent makes in a department by 
walking through it a few times a day, superficially look- 
ing it over, is practically nothing. He can tell nothing 
about the detail way they run except by staying in the 
department all day, each day, for a month. The things 



DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 25 

that he will straighten out by doing this will make an 
enormous profit at the end of the year. 

Remember the average machine shop only turns out 
30 per cent, of its possible capacity. This leaves 70 per 
cent, to be worked on. I know a plant where the super- 
intendent's adopting this system increased the output 
per man and reduced expenses in all departments. In 
the foundry alone the cost of casting dropped from 3 
cents to 2^4 cents per pound. This meant that he sacri- 
ficed his $2.50 per day clerical duties and his occasional 
walk through the different departments which were al- 
ways on dress parade during the time he was in the de- 
partment. 



ARTICLE III 
SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 

Hints Looking to the Development of the Able 
and Contented Working Force Sorting the 
Men According to Ability — Shop Thieving 

SURROUND yourself with capable men. It means 
more profit to your firm than any other item of the 
business. There is every argument in favor of em- 
ploying only the best talent, and no argument against 
it. If you can get good enough men, you can afford to 
turn them out millionaires, as Marshall Field did his 
partners : he made millions doing it. Both Andrew Car- 
negie and John D. Rockefeller attribute their success to 
the fact that they surrounded themselves with very cap- 
able men. They have been preaching this to the Ameri- 
can business man ever since. Surround yourself with 
the same kind of men they did. 

Qualities in Department Heads 

Don't be satisfied with the department heads until you 
get men that manage their departments better than you 
could yourself. With capable men around you, the 
work will be done easily, will be turned out cheaper and 
better, and the output of the factory will be increased. 
It will give you time to take up the big problems that 
spell profits. It is team work that builds up an establish- 
ment ; you can't do all the work. 

It is better to have a fine foreman even if he stays with 
you only a few years and gives you the trouble of break- 
ing in a new one than to put up with a poor one just be- 



SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 27 

cause you know he will stick with you forever. No mat- 
ter what other quality a foreman lacks, he must not lack 
energy. A lazy foreman with brains will bring poorer 
results than a medium-brained foreman who has un- 
limited energy. The energetic man cannot put up with 
loafing or laziness ; he does not understand it. The lazy 
foreman, in spite of himself, cannot help sympathizing 
with laziness. He knows the disease. 

Giving Free Rein to the Capable Man 

When you do get the exceptional good department 
head, gain his perfect confidence. Give him full sway, it 
is the only way to get the most from him. If you can see 
your way clear, never turn down any of his proposals. 
Let him carry his ideas out even though some seem im- 
practicable. Giving a good man rope will stimulate him 
and bring great results. If you continually turn him 
down, he will give up proposing things. He will get out 
of the habit of scheming for better things. A very good 
thing may occur to him which he will not speak to you 
about because he is sure you will turn it down. 

Be sure to have understudies coming along for every 
responsible and semi-responsible position. You are then 
perfectly guarded. Your work will always go smoothly. 

Good workmen are not expensive when the value of 
their output is compared to the wages paid. The dollar 
paid in salary to the best man in the shop brings in a 
larger return to the firm than the dollar paid to the poor 
man. It is quite common to see the best man turn out 
double the output of the poor man, yet the best man 
will not receive double the wages that the poor man gets. 
There is about one good man in six. It certainly pays to 
worry through, trying the bad five, to get the sixth. 



28 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Fitting the Man to the Work 

Don't try to make a man over into something that he 
is incapable of being. A man cannot change himself, as 
far as his character goes, more than 10 per cent. 

Put on the physically and mentally fit man for each 
job. For very heavy work, where the output depends 
largely on the physical effort put forth by the workman, 
you must get a powerful man who has great endurance. 
The person with only average strength does not realize 
what powerful men there are in the world. They are by 
no means rare, either. 

Continue trying new men until you surround your- 
self with geniuses in the line of work you want them to 
do. Don't be afraid of greenness. Greenness is the 
least of the faults in a man ; it rapidly disappears. 

Taking Men to Task for Mistakes 

Never call down a man for breaking a machine, no 
matter how expensive the break may be, if it was done 
by forcing the work too hard. Better tell him that you 
are proud of him. He was showing the right spirit. 
Few men push the work to the limit. It is wrong to take 
the man to task who is really a rare article, a gem, be- 
cause he was overzealous. This, of course, does not 
apply to the heavy-handed, careless man who breaks his 
machine by dropping something into the gears, or throws 
on the wrong feed by mistake. Even this man, if he be 
a big producer, should be dealt lightly with. If he is 
an habitual blunderer, get rid of him ; he has an inaccu- 
rate mind. 

Never continue to scold a man after he gets mad. 
Walk away from him until he cools down. Many a 
good employee has been lost by not knowing when to 
walk awav 



SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 29 

After you give a man a raking down for something he 
has done, go back and brace him up with cheerful words. 
When you do this, he knows that your criticism was of 
his work, not of his ability. He knows that you are sat- 
isfied with him as a man ; the criticism was purely of the 
work. 

I have always found that more can be done by praise 
than by blame. Persuasive talk accomplishes much. 
Men who require a blowing up in order to keep them to 
the mark had better be dropped. Of course there is a 
difference in people; all cannot be handled alike. It is 
a good thing to give the foreman and sub-foreman a 
little talk, once in a while, such as "Let's all pitch in and 
pull together to make a fine showing. The selling de- 
partment claims to be beating the manufacturing de- 
partment." Make them feel that it is a game in which to 
win, each one must push the work to the utmost. 

Helping Employees in Trouble 

Alwa} r s help the workman when he is in trouble. 
When he gets hurt give him half pay. At such a time he 
needs the money desperately, and the outlay is but a 
slight item in the general expenses. 

If he asks your advice on a legal matter, or wants 
your advice about an investment, or a medical matter, 
give him all this advice you can. 

Close the plant half a day for the funeral of your old 
employees. Go to the funeral yourself. You must be a 
sort of father to the workmen. Try to eliminate the 
soulless corporation feeling. 

Lifting the Esprit de Corps 

Always hire young men. Never lay men off for old 
age. Change them over to watchmen, gate watchmen, 
sweepers and roustabouts on light work, at reduced pay. 
Use them for picking up odds and ends of material. 



30 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

They make ideal men for these positions and earn their 
wage. The trouble with most firms is they hire old men 
for these positions, instead of taking their own old men. 

By getting rid of one or two men who are disturbing 
elements, the output of the whole shop can be increased. 
One or two men in a shop make a practice of telling the 
others that they wouldn't do this, and wouldn't do that 
—"don't be a horse," etc. These very men do not prac- 
tice what they preach at all, but do good day's work. 
Their fellow workmen are blind to this hypocrisy. 

Often foremen and workmen think they are turning 
out the maximum of work when they are not. Send the 
foremen to observe the work at other shops. Bring on 
machine demonstrators from the machine factories. 
They are sent free of expense, generally. Borrow a 
rapid workman from some other shop on a holiday. Let 
him put up a day's work. This will produce an enlight- 
ening effect. 

Buying Work from the Workman 

The amount of work a man should do must be looked 
at in this light: The employer is buying work from the 
workman. Like other commodities, work worth a dollar 
should be obtained for every dollar spent. If the em- 
ployer pays for 10 hours' work, he is entitled to the full 
10 hours' work. This means the workman must start to 
work at whistle time — not begin to get ready to start 
then — and must not quit until the quitting whistle has 
blown. 

The sole and only object of manufacturing is to make 
money. This should be kept continually in mind. A 
very large output per man is essential to success. Every- 
thing else is dwarfed in comparison to this. The so- 
called humane person may say that this is a hard way to 
look at the subject of employing our fellow men. A 
firm that looks at the subject differently fails. Failure 



SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 31 

generally brings misery to all concerned, including stock- 
holders. Failure forces great hardship on the workmen 
for no fault of their own. Failure generally happens in 
hard times, when work cannot be easily found. Failure 
is bad for the old workmen. They may never be able to 
get good jobs again. They are changed from good, 
prosperous men, possibly with bank accounts, to men 
with all their life's saving gone. Prosperous firms are 
able to stand the strain of hard times, and their workmen 
share their prosperity. 

Employer's Acts Having an Adverse Influence 

Do not drive up to the plant in your $3000 automo- 
bile. The workmen will think it cost you $5000. They 
cannot help comparing the price of your automobile 
with the price of the home they have been trying to buy 
all their lives. 

Do not put in window flower boxes and do not take 
employees to baseball games. In other words, do not do 
anything that looks as though you were throwing away 
your money. I never yet have seen a case where it did 
not bring out the remark from the employees: "Well, 
they must be making lots of money. They ought to put 
that into our pay envelope." 

A Quarterly Method of Sorting Employees 

Every quarter get from each foreman a list of the men 
arranged according to their value or future value in a 
department. Tell the foreman that you want to know 
who, of all his men, he would hate the most to have quit. 
Then, who would be the next, etc., etc. Tell him not to 
place them in the list according to their wages, but ac- 
cording to their value. Ask him which men seem to be 
capable of rising more rapidly than the others. They 
are the ones that will be valuable to you in the long run. 



32 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Those who cannot rise, replace with green men. This 
system will surround you with producing geniuses. 

This once-a-quarter talk has a tendency to keep con- 
stantly before the foreman the fact that he has men of 
different calibers. It puts it clear in his mind so that he 
will get rid of his poor men and hang to his good men. 

Training One's Own Skilled Help 

Make your own mechanics. Weed out the poor ones. 
It is the only possible way to get the valuable men. You 
cannot hire them from other shops. The good workman 
rarely shifts from one shop to another, because his em- 
ployer, appreciating him, will not let him go. The me- 
chanics that you will teach will do the work your way. 
They will stay with you as they are not sure they could 
hold jobs outside. 

Hire bright laborers and teach them the trades. Take 
men, not boys, for the man who has had to struggle 
along at laborer's wages, supporting a family, will do 
the most good and be satisfied with his pay if you treat 
him fairly. The opportunities for laborers to become 
skilled mechanics are so few that your efforts will be ap- 
preciated. The laborer will be satisfied with a more 
moderate rate of wages than the shifting mechanic that 
you hire from the outside. At first your foremen will 
hate to be teachers, but soon they will get used to it and 
prefer it. 

It is best to have a backbone of speedy, accurate, all- 
around high-priced mechanics through your plant. This 
will be a skeleton framework around which the force is 
built. 

If the system of breaking in green men, instead of 
hiring outside skilled mechanics, is followed, a plant will 
never be troubled about scarcity of labor even when 
other shops in the locality cannot get men. It requires 
time and patience and a free hand at laying off the un- 



SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 33 

suitable ones. Only about one man in six will be found 
suitable to learn the trade, but the trouble of trying them 
pays many times over in a large output per man and a 
large output per dollar spent in pay roll, and this is the 
real object of the game. 

A contented family feeling springs up in a plant man- 
aged in this way, which is a fine thing. Labor troubles 
are eliminated. The paid agitator never poisons the 
minds of the men, because he is never hired under this 
system. The men appreciate what has been done for 
them and value their positions. The plant gets a good 
reputation among workmen and draws the best talent 
from the locality. 

The Employment of Boys 

Use boys where it is practicable. The best 35-cent per 
hour man cannot compete with a good 14-eent boy on 
plain work. To come out even, the man would have to 
turn out two and a half times the boy's output. Here 
is an actual comparison from the cost cards of cost of 
work when done by boys and by men. The job was ma- 
chining and drilling 100 cylinder heads by two men 
getting 21 and 24 cents per hour respectively and by two 
boys getting 7 1 /2 cents and 5 cents. It took the men 12 
hours to get out 100; cost $2.74. It took 16 hours for 
the boys to get out 100; cost 97 cents. This card was 
made out a number of years ago. Both the men's wage 
rates and the bo} r s' rates were a good deal lower than 
they are to-day, but the ratio will run about the same. 

Only a small proportion of the bo} 7 s will stay with a 
firm longer than 4 years. They feel that they must 
make a try in the world outside the shop where they 
learned their trade. I have found that the proportion of 
boys that can be taught trades runs much higher than the 
proportion of men that can be taught ; that is, less weed- 
ing is necessary with boys than with men. The reason 



34 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

for this is that there has been very little picking over of 
the boys, so that there is a good chance of getting a boy 
who will represent the average of the whole boy king- 
dom. The men who are out of work are likely to be the 
poor leavings that no one could use, so the chance of 
getting a genius is not so good as with the boys. 

Shop Thieving 

Thieving is generally done by recently employed men. 
One gets acquainted with his old employees; they be- 
come part of the family. The transient is the one who 
steals. Bar off and lock up the department of the plant 
where valuable material is kept. 

In order to stop thieving, the superintendent must be 
on such terms of familiarity with his men that they feel 
free to inform him of irregularities. This is his grape- 
vine telegraph through which he gets his inside informa- 
tion. The manager or superintendent has but two eyes. 
As he walks through the plant, his field of vision, as 
already stated, is limited to an area of a few square feet. 
This area is on dress parade. The things that go on 
when he is away are what he should know about. The 
good men need no watching. They are by far the great 
majority, otherwise our social system would not hold 
together. 

No system of checking or red tape will discover steal- 
ing. I remember a case in a factory in our town where 
stealing was going on. I happened to know, personally, 
a young man in this factory who told me the incident 
that led to discovering the stealing. One day the wife of 
one of the employees came into the office. It seems she 
had been having a row with her husband and he had left 
her. She said, "I don't think it is right the way my hus- 
band is stealing from you." This was the first they knew 
of any stealing. An examination of his barn disclosed 
an enormous mass of stolen material, small tools, etc., 



SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 35 

including a 3-hp. electric motor bought of outside par- 
ties to drive a small new lathe. This company had a 
wonderful system of checking, and yet the theft of the 
motor was not discovered by it. 

I know a case where a man continually stole the 
sweeper's broom. The broom was marked with the firm's 
name, and a large cross was painted on the straw part. 
Only a very shortsighted man could suppose that the 
broom would not be missed immediately. This man 
stole four or five brooms before he was caught. I also 
heard of a man in a big electric company just outside 
Pittsburgh that had a sack made in the lining of the back 
of his coat. He came in the morning a straight man, 
and went out round-shouldered, from a mass of sheet 
brass clippings under his coat. He tried to steal the in- 
tershop telephone. This is where his shortsightedness 
came in, and he was caught. 

Courts give light sentences to thieves, on account of 
the sympathy of the public, and thieving is profitable 
though the thief may serve a prison sentence occasion- 
ally. Thieving is a serious loss to both employers and 
employees, and requires constant watching. Thieves are 
very lacking mentally, and are easily caught by being 
led into a trap. For example, a number of pieces of 
brass can be left around where the thief will notice them 
and will steal them. If this is repeated, with some one 
watching the pieces, he is easily caught. After making 
sure of the thief dismiss him. The main point is to get 
the thief out of the plant. It is a duty to the honest 
workmen, as well as to the employer. 

Increasing Wages as Time of Service Increases 

Start the green men whom you expect to make into 
mechanics at the standard rate of laborer's wages paid 
in your locality. Make up a table of raises that will re- 
tain the men in your service. Give the men raises in 



3,6 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

accordance with their length of service. Give the in- 
crease by half cents. Don't wait until it is time to give 
a man one cent, or two and a half cent raise. The little 
constant sugaring of the pay envelope keeps them en- 
couraged, and makes them realize that their work is ap- 
preciated. 

It may seem an unjust system to give raises according 
to time of service, and not according to the relative value 
of men, but it is not. If you get rid of poor learners, 
you are sure of a force of men somewhat even in their 
mental capacity, and other things being equal, the 
longer a man stays with you, the more valuable he be- 
comes. 

Besides this, it is a very satisfactory system for the 
man. He comes into your employ, we will say, a young 
man, just married, with low expenses. He and his wife 
are boarding possibly with her parents. His expenses 
gradually increase. A baby comes into the family. His 
wages are going up to keep pace with his increase in ex- 
penses. He rents a house ; more money is in the pay en- 
velope. He has more children ; again a raise. After 
he has been with you 6 or 8 years, the old folks come and 
live with him ; more expense. By that time, he is making 
good pay. See what a satisfactory life he is leading. 
He will continue to get raises as long as he stays. 

Now, instead of this, suppose you had jumped his 
wages to the full amount in three years' service. He 
would have jumped up his expenses. In other words, 
the fixed rate of raises fits the natural fixed rate of ex- 
penses incurred by a man as he goes through life. There 
is nothing an old employee hates so much as to see new- 
comers paid more money than he receives. 

The Wages Increase System in Its Working 

According to the above-mentioned table, a man's 
wages increase rapidly during his first year, less rapidly 



SELECTION AND HANDLING OF MEN 37 

during his second year, and still less rapidly during the 
following years until he becomes an experienced work- 
man, when his rate is fixed in comparison to his standing 
with the other men. Those who are not satisfied with the 
table rate of increase, should be allowed to leave. The 
man who expects mechanic's full wages before he has 
learned the trade is not a desirable employee. A dis- 
satisfied workman is unprofitable, and creates dissatis- 
faction among his fellow workmen. 

On hiring the green man tell him just what his raises 
will be and when they will come. He will take more 
interest in the work knowing there is a great future for 
him. 

When it comes to giving a man a raise let the foreman 
notify the man. When it comes to the refusal of a raise 
asked for, let the superintendent notify the man. This 
will keep a good feeling between the foreman and his 
men. I do not mean by good feeling the catering of a 
foreman to his men. A foreman of that sort should be 
gotten rid of immediately, as the men will run him to 
death, and you probably will wind up with a strike in his 
department. 

Another good system of raising wages, which will ap- 
ply to a small department — say the coreroom of a foun- 
dry- — is to pay the best workman a rate higher than the 
standard for his trade. Pay the second best man the 
standard rate, the third man under the standard, the 
fourth still less than the third, etc. The newest learner 
will get a rate about 25 per cent, greater than laborer's 
wages. 



ARTICLE IV 
PIECE WORK AND BONUS SYSTEM 

Conditions Favorable and Unfavorable to Piece 
Work — What to Consider in Establishing 
Rates — Observations on the Physically Fit Man 

PIECE work or the premium system is applicable 
to any work that can be thoroughly inspected. It 
is not suited to the assembling of fine work, but is 
all right for the assembling of the rougher classes of ma- 
chinery where the designer has allowed ample leeway 
for poor workmanship, where the customer pays a low 
price, and where a perfect machine is not absolutely 
essential. The output per man in a plant changing from 
day work to piece or premium work will increase in the 
ratio of three to five. 

When Piece Work is Not Advisable 

Piece work or premium work can be used on the ma- 
chine operations of the automobile engine. All pieces 
can be gauged and inspected as they come from the ma- 
chines. Piece or premium work cannot be used without 
danger of a bad product on the assembling work, be- 
cause thorough inspection here is impossible. An as- 
sembler can screw a stud carefully into the hole that has 
been partially stripped and the job will pass the inspec- 
tion and the running test. . When the buyer tries to tight- 
en down the nut on this stud, on account of a leak, the 
thread will be stripped. 

An assembler discovering that he has not placed 
enough liners or shims between the connecting rod and 



PIECE WORK AND BONUS SYSTEM 39 

the cap to prevent the pinching of the crank, may leave 
these bolts loose rather than waste his premium time in 
correcting the matter. The engine will pass all tests, but 
give trouble afterward. 

The ground bearing of the valve on its seat may be 
broad on one side and narrow on the other and still be 
tight and pass the test. This valve will not stay tight as 
long a time as one that has an even bearing all around. 

Inspection will not discover faults in assembling. The 
workman must be depended on to do good work. 

Eliminating False Moves 

To get the most out of piece work, both for the work- 
man and the firm — for the workman a higher total wage, 
and for the firm a lower piece rate — every false move, no 
matter how seemingly insignificant, must be absolutely 
eliminated. This can be done to some extent by the 
workman, but can be accomplished better by having an 
intelligent overseer stand by the man while at work and 
call the man's attention to each one of his false moves. 
A good way is to have the man count aloud the number 
of movements he makes. He will soon be interested in 
the possibility of reducing this number. 

The molder in the foundry making small molds, may 
be putting one too many shovelfuls of sand on his mold 
which afterward has to be struck off as superfluous. In 
striking off the mold he may make two moves where one 
long sweeping move would do the work. 

Setting the Time on a Piece 

When a man is able to do the task without making any 
false moves, time him. See that he is moving rapidly, 
that is, not holding back because you are timing him. 
From his time on one piece figure what his output would 
be for a day. The actual output will drop below this on 
account of small delays now and then. The allowance 



40 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

will be different on different classes of work. On work 
requiring very little physical effort, the allowance will 
be small. On work taking great physical effort, this 
allowance should be as high as 40 per cent. That is, a 
man will have to rest 40 per cent, of the time on the 
heaviest work. His resting generally takes the form of 
working slowly in the afternoon when he is tired, and 
quitting work rather early. 

For instance, set the molding rates as follows on small 
molding after getting the true time of one mold when 
the molder is hurrying : 2% minute mold add 40 per 
cent. ; total time 8% minutes ; 5 minute mold add 40 per 
cent. ; total time 7 minutes ; 7% minute mold add 40 per 
cent; total time 10% minutes; 10 minute mold add 40 
per cent. ; total time 14 minutes. 

On heavy piece work or premium tasks be sure to use 
a powerful man — a man physically fit for the work. 
There are men who never tire. The only effect enor- 
mous, continued physical effort has on them is to make 
them ravenously hungry. The energy expended is 
taken from the food the man eats and not from the 
man's tissue. He is burning food, not flesh. 

I remember asking a workman who was doing very 
heavy work all day if he felt tired at night. He was a 
muscular, short, thick set man. He said, "No, I feel 
just as fresh at night after I have eaten my supper as 
when I started in the morning." He was physically fit 
for the task and felt no injurious effect from overwork. 
Few realize what an enormous amount of work the phy- 
sically fit man can do. 

A fireman on a big locomotive puts 15 tons of coal 
through an 18-inch door upon the fire in a run of five or 
six hours. At the Lake Erie docks men are paid 18 
cents per ton for cleaning up the ore in the hold of an 
ore boat after the automatic unloader has handled all 



PIECE WORK AND BONUS SYSTEM 41 

that it can (80 per cent, of the cargo) . They have made 
as high as $12 per day of ten hours, which means 6.67 
tons of ore were shoveled in one hour. 

On straight work, not cleaning up, they are paid 13 
cents per ton. When eight men are in a hold shoveling 
into 1-ton buckets each man handles five or six tons of 
ore per hour. A rate of eight tons per hour has been 
reached. The daily wages run as high as $6.50 to $7.80 
per day. These are instances of the ability of the physi- 
cally fit man for heavy work. 

When skilled mechanics, in any trade, are paid $3.25 
for ten hours, the piece worker will earn $4 to $4.50 a 
day; the exceptional man will be able to make about $5. 
These figures are for work where the piece rate has been 
correctly set and a good speed kept up all day. 

Handling Work by the Specialist System 

Where work can be specialized by having a man do 
but one or two operations, costs can be greatly reduced. 
This system of specialization increases the output per 
man and improves the quality of the product because 
each specialist is an expert on his one particular part of 
the work. A product made exactly to the drawings will 
result because interchangeability is a necessity to the 
system. 

A firm can easily increase its force of skilled workmen, 
even when labor is scarce, for it is easy to break in green 
men who can be taught to do one or two operations only. 
Never make the mistake of putting a skilled mechanic 
on this simple work ; it will be distasteful to him, and he 
will not be successful at it. 

Automobile Engine Assembling 

1st Gang — (Crank case) . Stud crank case and ream 
bearings for crank. 



42 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

2nd Gang — ( Connecting rods and crank) . Put in bab- 
bitt bearing and the bronze bush. Scrape bearing to fit 
crank. Number crank and connecting rods to keep them 
together. 

3rd Gang — ( Cylinders, valves, manifold and exhaust 
headers). Grind in exhaust valves. Fit on manifolds 
and exhaust headers. 

4th Gang — (Wrist pin and piston). Fit wrist pin 
into piston, but do not fit in piston rings. 

5th Gang — (Crank case and crank). Receive crank 
case from 1st gang and crank from 2nd gang, and fit 
crank into crank case, scraping bearings. 

6th Gang — ( Crank case and connecting rod) . Receive 
crank case from 5th gang, and connecting rods from 2nd 
gang, and put connecting rods onto crank. 

7th Gang — Receive crank case, etc., and put on gears, 
but not the cam shafts. 

8th Gang — Receive the cylinders from the 3rd gang 
and the pistons from the 4th gang and the crank case 
from the 7th gang, and fit the rings to the pistons. Fit 
the pistons and rings to the cylinders. Fit the wrist pin 
to the connecting rod and bolt the engine together. The 
engine is now complete except cam shaft, etc. From here 
on it is transported on small chain hoist trolleys. In some 
places, on small wagons. Before this point the parts 
were handled by hand. 

9th Gang. — Put in cam shaft, etc. Time engine and set 
valves. From here it goes to the belt test and regular test. 

The same system is used on small parts, such as cam 
shafts, etc. Have a gang of all around mechanics to fill 
in when men are off and attend to troubles that are out 
of the ordinary. A part that requires excessive hand 
work, on account of bad machine work, is turned over to 
the all around mechanic, which prevents any stoppage in 
the natural flow of parts through the gangs. 



ARTICLE V 
RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 

Methods Evolved to Minimize Clerical Work in 
an Establishment Having Foundry and Machine 
Shop Operations — Effect of Too Much System 

MONEY is made at the points of the cutting 
tools and not at the points of the lead pencils. 
There is nothing quite so sad as a factory that 
has a clerical force out of proportion to the manufactur- 
ing force. Each producer must work the harder to sup- 
port the parasite. 

Beware of too much red tape. Avoid safe-guarding 
systems carried too far into details. Over-intricate cost- 
keeping systems do not pay as well as approximate sys- 
tems. Many offices have shelves filled with time cards 
that cost hundreds of dollars, but which are not bringing 
in one cent's worth of returns. Putting this money into 
machine tools, or into efficient managers and high class 
workmen would be more profitable. 

Too much red tape will tie the hands of the foremen 
and the employees. Many firms have failed because an 
intricate system of safeguarding killed the freedom of 
action of the foremen. Different foremen arrive at 
success by using entirely different methods. It is native 
ability that makes the thing go, and any check on this is 
damaging. 

What Too Much System Did 

In a certain plant an intricate shop system and cost- 
keeping system had been installed. The cards were most 



44 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

elaborate, and were printed in colors. All the foremen, 
even down to the straw bosses spent a large part of their 
time at improvised desks, shuffling time slips and writ- 
ing. At a large machine the writer timed the cutting 
speed. The machine was running at one-third of its cor- 
rect speed with a feed about one-half of what it should 
have been. The product of that machine, in fact, of the 
whole plant, was being turned out at one-sixth the cor- 
rect speed. At the toolroom a crowd of men was killing 
time, likewise at the drinking fountain, and the tool 
grinding emery wheel. The only department in the 
plant that was running at all well was the foundry. 

The foundry foreman was asked how it happened that 
he wasn't writing at a desk. He said, "When I took this 
job they handed me a book of instructions, explaining 
their systems. I took it home and studied it during all 
my spare time for two weeks and then gave it up as be- 
ing too complicated to be practical. I turned it over to 
my assistant, and he and a high school graduate we hired 
tend to all the writing for the whole foundry. All I do 
is to have the assistant give me a sheet of paper each 
evening telling me how many castings are wanted on 
each pattern. I chalk the number on the pattern. It 
takes me about five minutes each day and I am then 
free the rest of the day to push the work through." 

The concern afterward failed. It would have been 
better for it to have had no cost system, and to have set 
its selling prices at its competitors' prices and made the 
f ormen increase the output of the men until the firm be- 
gan to make money. The "golden mean" lies between 
the two extremes of too much system and not enough 
system. 

Conditions Which Demand a Routing System 

As a plant grows a time comes when the foremen will 
not be able to keep everything in their heads. A system 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 45 

then will have to be installed for keeping track of every 
piece going through the plant. Lack of some of the 
parts for a machine being built is one of the greatest 
drawbacks to the assembling department. The machine 
cannot be completely assembled until the last piece is 
received and all hand work is finished on it. Workmen, 
of necessity, loaf on the job when all the parts are not 
ready for them. 

The routing of parts through the plant will have to 
be taken care of by some one who is given authority. It 
cannot be left to department foremen. The foremen's 
whole attention should be concentrated upon improving 
the methods and the workmanship and increasing the 
output per man of the shop. 

Previous to installing the following system in a plant 
employing 200 men, the foremen kept track of every- 
thing in their heads. They developed wonderful mem- 
ories. Finally the amount of work grew beyond the ca- 
pacity of their memories. Parts that were started 
through the works were lost. Duplicate parts were 
made. The finished stock room gradually filled up with 
special odds and ends that could not be used. Even- 
tually they were scrapped at great loss. Often the fail- 
ure to order a certain piece on a machine was not dis- 
covered until the machine was about erected. The 
smooth, regular flow of the work through the machines 
had to be stopped to push this piece through. In the 
meantime the erector loafed on the job until he received 
the lacking piece. Then the system described below 
was introduced : 

System for Cost Keeping and Shop Routing 

Two important points in this system are: (1) The 
shop part of the cost-keeping and the shop routing of 
material are in one system and in charge of one clerk. 
(2) The system is simple and requires but a small 



46 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

amount of clerical work. The writing consists of the 
mere jotting down of a symbol, or the drawing of a line 
through a printed word, or putting a cross or other mark 
in a space. This allows the foremen and workmen to 
give their full time to production. The system keeps 
absolute track of every piece that is going through the 
shop, and never lets one piece lag behind the others. 

When an order for a machine is received, a number of 
acknowledgment sheets (Fig. 1) are typewritten in the 
office. One copy goes immediately to the customer as 
the acknowledgment of the order. A second copy is filed 
in the office to be used as the invoice to the customer 
when his machine is shipped. The office can always as- 
certain whether or not a customer's machine has been 
shipped by looking in this file. If the invoice sheet is 
there, the machine has not gone. If the sheet is not 
there, the machine has been shipped. A third copy of 
the acknowledgment goes to the drafting room ; a fourth 
copy to the material routing clerk ; the original sheet is 
sent to the superintendent. 

The departments receiving these sheets file them al- 
phabetically under the name of the customer. From 
this file the order can always be referred to if the custom- 
er's name is known. The office gives each order a con- 
secutive number, known as the order number, which is 
eventually stamped on the finished machine to identi- 
fy it. 

During the process of manufacture all orders for 
material, all machine orders, and the assembling order 
for this machine, are marked with this order number. 

Besides making out these acknowledgment sheets the 
office also makes out a set of sheets called the order 
sheets ( Fig. 2 ) . With these sheets is made out a card 
which is a facsimile of the order sheets and is called 
the erector's tag. Two order sheets go to the drafting 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 



47 



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SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 



room. The tag and one order sheet go to the material 
routing clerk, and the original lead pencil copy goes to 
the superintendent. 

These order sheets are filed either by the order num- 
ber or are kept in files that are sub-divided to represent 
the different departments of the plant. As the work 
proceeds the order is moved from one departmental 
division of the file to another. The sheet is always kept 
under the department that is holding the work back 
the most. For instance, it may be filed under drafting 
room if the need of a new drawing is holding the work 



o 



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WORKMAN - 



Pump Piston 

or Plunger- 
steam piston- 
rods -i. 
Packing 



CHARGE TIME TO ASSEM. JOB No.. 



PUMP CYL. 
STEAM CYL. 
VALVE MOV. 



DATE BEC'D , . 


DATE TO SHIP- 






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OR OCR NO. 















Fig. 2— Order Sheet. Size, 8^x4^ In. 

on the order back, or it may be filed under the pattern 
shop if new patterns must be made. 

The orders thus filed save considerable traveling 
from one department to another. By taking the file 
of orders into a department, all the work can be rushed 
that the department is holding back. One trip a day, 
or even one trip every other day, is sufficient to cover 
everything. 

The order sheet gives complete information to any 
one familiar with the product of the firm. It has writ- 
ten on it: The date of the order; shipping date; the 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 49 

name and address of the firm to receive the machine; 
the consecutive order number; the combination num- 
ber; the size and style of the machine; all the peculiar 
or particular notes necessary for getting out the ma- 
chine. 

Each machine as it is designed is given a design num- 
ber, which is called the combination number. This starts 
with No. 1 and continues indefinitely. 

Every time any change in design is made in a ma- 
chine, even if it be only a change on the smallest piece 
on the machine, a new combination number is given to 
the machine. For instance suppose that machine com- 
bination No. 15 should develop a certain weakness in 
some small part, say a little pin, and suppose the high- 
est or last combination number was 800. This machine 
after the pin was changed would be given combination 
number 801, and would be built under 801 combination 
number until another change in design was made, when 
it would take on another combination number 

This is a fine system as it simplifies getting out re- 
pairs. A certain man does not have to be kept in the 
employ of a firm because he happens to remember how 
all the old machines were built. Another great thing 
about the system is the management is perfectly free 
to make all the improvements and changes in the de- 
sign it pleases without in the least mixing anything or 
giving any further trouble. 

The set of drawings for each size of machine is num- 
bered with the combination number of the machine. 
Each drawing in the set is given a card number to sep- 
arate it from the other drawings in the set or combina- 
tion. Thus there would be for machine combination 
number 15, one set of drawings all marked "Combina- 
tion No. 15" with the card numbers, if there were ten 
drawings in the lot running from one through ten. 



50 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

After the change of the pin on combination No. 15, 
this machine would be called combination No. 801. All 
the combination 15 drawings would be used with the 
exception of the pin drawing No. 801, Card 1. 

Bill of Material 

The drafting room makes out a master bill of ma- 
terial for each design or combination of a machine, 
which is a complete record of everything on the ma- 
chine. It gives a list, in columnar form, of each piece 
used on the machine. At the left of the name of each 
piece is given the combination number and card num- 
ber of the drawing on which the piece is shown. At 
the right of the name of the piece is given the number 
of these pieces used on the machine, and the material. 
Material is signified by initials to save space. Still fur- 
ther to the right is a blank space for checking marks. 

The bill of material is first made out by the drafting 
room in lead pencil on a large, specially ruled form, as 
shown in Fig. 3 (page 51) . 

This sheet is taken to the office where a typewritten, 
exact copy is made of it on a sheet of transparent pa- 
per, using carbon paper turned wrong side up under- 
neath. This prints typewriter ink on one side of the 
sheet and carbon on the other, the object being to make 
as opaque letters and numbers as possible, for blue- 
printing purposes. 

This typewritten sheet is sent back to drafting room 
and a Vandyke, or brown, copy of it is made in the same 
manner as blue printing. This brown print becomes 
the master copy. From this brown print a number of 
blue prints are made, the number depending on the 
popularity of that particular size machine. This print 
will have a white background and the rulings, numbers 
and wording will be in blue. The routing clerk can 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 



51 



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PRODUCTION LIST 


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52 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

make check marks on it on the white background. All 
bills of material are of a standard size so that they can 
be filed easily. 

When the two duplicate order sheets are received 
by the drafting room one is filed for reference; the 
other is pasted on the bottom of the blue print bill of 
material and sent to the shop routing clerk. 

To the shop routing clerk this sheet becomes what 
the train dispatcher's board is to the train dispatcher. 
On it he keeps track of all material ordered outside of 
the factory, all the rough material from one department 
to another in the factory, all casting orders, and all the 
machine orders. He can tell by a glance at the bill of 
material whether a drawing is to be made for a piece, 
whether material is to be ordered, or has been ordered, 
whether a pattern is to be made, or a casting is to be 
made or is in stock in the rough, whether a piece is be- 
ing worked in the machine shop, or whether it is fin- 
ished and in stock ready for the erecting. Thus he has 
complete and accurate control of all parts, and can rush 
the lagging ones. 

Alterations made on the machine while building, all 
improper workmanship, flaws or any other notes are 
inserted on the bill of material. These are useful for 
future reference should trouble arise from these faults. 

The test record made out by the testing department 
is also pasted on this bill of material. 

After the machine has been shipped the bill of ma- 
terial goes to the office and becomes the basis on which 
the cost is figured for the machine. The bill of ma- 
terial is finally filed away as the complete record of the 
machine, and in after years is used to make out repair 
part orders for the machine, should any repairs be 
needed. 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 53 

The Shop Material Routing Clerk 

As soon as the shop routing clerk receives a bill of 
material for a machine to be built, he sends it to the 
finished stores department. For each piece they find 
that they have in stock they stamp their check mark 
opposite the name of that piece. This is a "Finished 
Condition" mark. 

The bill of material is then sent to the rough stores 
department. The rough stores clerk stamps opposite 
the names of those parts that he has in the rough his 
"rough parts in stock" stamp. 

It then is sent back to the shop routing clerk. He 
looks over it and orders the material for those parts 
that are not checked, that is, that are still blank. As 
fast as he writes out the orders for material he makes 
opposite the name of the piece his own check mark in 
lead pencil. He uses a different mark for material 
ordered outside the shop than is used for that ordered 
in the shop. He looks down the numbers at the left of 
the names of the pieces, the numbers representing the 
drawings for the pieces. Any number higher than the 
last drawing made he checks with a mark that means 
drafting room. 

The object of having the rough stores clerk and fin- 
ished stores clerk use a stamp for their marks is to iden- 
tify their O. K.'s from the routing clerk's mark, should 
any dispute come up later because a certain piece failed 
to materialize as checked. 

By a glance at the bill of material the routing clerk 
can tell the condition of all the parts. His drafting 
room check means that a drawing is wanted. A blank 
space opposite a name means that the piece is not in 
existence, either in the rough or finished state, and must 
be ordered. A rough stores clerk check means that the 



54 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

piece is in the rough and must be machined. A finished 
stores check opposite a piece means it is all complete 
ready for the erector. 

The Casting Order 

The casting order is a printed blank along the lines 
indicated in Fig. 4. The routing clerk completely fills 
in all spaces except the pattern number and weight, 
getting all information from the bill of material. The 
pattern number is put on by the pattern storage man, 
and the weight by the rough stores man, when he 
weighs the casting. 



Machine to be used on 

Size Style 

Shop No Comb. No. 



Make castings Material. 

It is shown on drawing No. 

Card No . , and is called the . . 



Pat. No Wt. 



Fig. 4 — Casting Order Blank 

The casting order takes a circular course. First, it 
is sent to the pattern storage man, who gets out the 
pattern, chalks the number of castings wanted on the 
pattern, and enters the pattern number on the casting 
order. The pattern is sent to the foundry, and the 
casting order goes to the rough stores clerk. This noti- 
fies the rough stores clerk to be on the lookout for these 
castings. As soon as the castings are all made the 
rough stores clerk weighs them, enters the weight on 
the casting order, and sends the casting order back to 
the material routing clerk. 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 55 

The receiving of the casting order notifies the rout- 
ing clerk that the casting he needed is now in stock in 
the casting store room. All this has been done with a 
minimum of clerical work on the part of the routing 
clerk, and practically none on the part of the pattern 
storage man and the casting storage man. 

Machine Order 

The ordering of a piece to be machined is as follows: 
A machine order, Fig. 5, is written out in duplicate. 
The original order and the duplicate are given a consec- 
utive job number for cost-keeping purposes. At the 



,lnn lln, 

Size . . . 

Production Ord 


99840 


WORK ORDER. 


p P.n» 


B. No . 










Drawing. No. 


r.Aon Nn 


Awn Aae' 






Wt. 











Fig. 5 — Machine Order. Original, 3x5}4 In. 

same time that the order and its duplicate are written 
a tag is made out called the job or instruction tag, 
which is a fac-simile of the machine order. The job 
number is written on this tag also. All job numbering 
is done with a numbering machine set to print in tripli- 
cate. 

The weight of the piece in the rough is placed on the 
duplicate machine order. The duplicate of the machine 
order is sent into the cost-keeping department. This 
is its notification that time will begin to come in to them 
on this job. 



56 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

The machine order and tag are sent to the rough 
stores clerk. This is his notification to deliver the cast- 
ing or material to the machine shop. He ties the tag 
on the casting and delivers it to the machines. As soon 
as it is delivered he hands the machine order back to the 
routing clerk. This is the routing clerk's notification 
that the casting is now in the machine department, with 
the tag tied on it. 

When the routing clerk receives the machine order 
he checks the bill of material, not with a mark as be- 
fore, but with the job number that the piece is to be 
machined under. He copies this number from the ma- 
chine order upon the bill of material. After thus check- 
ing, he sends the machine order to the machine fore- 
man. This is the latter's notification that the material 
has been already delivered to him, properly tagged. 

The foreman knows that the tag contains all the in- 
formation necessary to enable the workman to finish 
the piece. The size, the style and the order number of 
the machine of which the piece is to become a part are 
stated on the tag ; moreover, the number of the drawing 
on which the piece is shown, and the job number to 
which the workman must charge his time is given on 
the tag. 

After the casting is machined it is sent to the as- 
sembling floor with the machine order. The assembler 
does the necessary handwork, charging his time to the 
job number. When the handwork is all done, and the 
piece is ready for the erector, the assembling foreman 
returns the machine order to the routing clerk, who is 
thus notified that the piece is finished and on the erect- 
ing floor. The routing clerk checks off the name of 
this piece from the bill of material by drawing a ver- 
tical line down through the name. The idea of using 
the vertical line is that when all the parts for the ma- 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 57 

chine are finished the vertical line will be continuous 
from top of sheet to the bottom. Any break in it will 
be noticeable and will call attention to something miss- 
ing. 

The machine order is stamped "finished" by the rout- 
ing clerk, with the date, and is sent to the cost depart- 
ment. This is its notification that no more time will 
come in on this piece, and that the cost of the piece can 
now be computed. 

The ordering of the rough storage man to deliver 
the rough piece to the machines; the notifying of the 
routing clerk that it has been delivered ; the ordering of 
the machine shop to machine the piece; the giving the 
workman all necessary information about machining 
the piece, and also the job number under which he is to 
work; the notifying the cost department to expect time 
on the piece; the notifying the assembling department 
that the piece has arrived there to be assembled; the 
notifying the routing clerk that the piece is all finished ; 
the checking of the bill of material, and the notifying 
the cost department that piece is finished is all done 
with a minimum amount of clerical work on the part 
of the routing clerk, and none at all on the part of the 
rough storage man, the machine foreman, or assem- 
bling department foreman. 

As soon as the bill of material shows that the princi- 
pal parts are machined and on the erecting floor, and 
that all the other parts are in a sufficiently advanced 
state to avoid a possibility of holding the work back, 
an erecting order is written, which is given a job num- 
ber and is handled by the cost department in the same 
manner as if it were a single piece. This erecting job 
number is written on the bill of material and also on 
the erector's large descriptive tag that was received 



58 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

from the office at the time the order came in. The 
erecting order and tag are sent to the erecting foreman. 
This is his notification to erect the machine, all parts 
being either finished or nearly finished. 

The workmen send their time for erecting to the cost 
department under the job number on the erecting tag. 
This tag is tied to the machine at the commencement of 
the erection and remains until the machine is shipped, 
and gives complete information to all concerned, even 
to the testers and shippers. 

The testing department makes out a detail test sheet 
for each machine, which is pasted upon the bill of ma- 
terial by the shop routing clerk. The list of fittings to 
be shipped with the machine is also pasted on the bill of 
material. 

The bill of material, stamped with the date of ship- 
ment, is finally sent to the cost department, and after 
the cost of the machine, as a whole, is figured, it is filed 
away to be the complete record of the machine. 

In the tool room is filed a master set of bills of ma- 
terial, which is an index to the drawing racks. One de- 
tail might be added: 

Before beginning erection the erecting foreman no- 
tifies the routing clerk to deliver the parts of the ma- 
chine to the erecting floor. The routing clerk then 
hands the bill of material to the finished stores man, 
who forwards the material indicated, the small parts 
being placed in an open box, chalk-marked with the 
order number of the machine. 

It is a good idea for each person connected with the 
shop routing of parts to use a system of crude picture 
marks, dots, dashes and circles to represent the different 
items on the bill of material; a sort of shorthand that 
will take up small space and can be quickly written. 
This will be used for quick memorandum only. Using 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 59 

this system, a large number of notes can be put on a 
small sheet very rapidly. 

On each casting is cast a pattern number and this 
number is placed on the drawing, which identifies a 
pattern or casting, and is useful in the pattern storage 
room, casting storage room, machine shop, erecting 
room and finished stock room. 

For larger plants, the material routing system can 
be made more elaborate, but in doing so the principle 
of absolutely keeping clerical work from the foremen 
must be strictly adhered to. 

Foundry System 

The following is a system to take care of the work in 
a foundry: 

The bill of material is similar to that used in the sys- 
tem just described, but is more complete. In addition 
to the number of the drawing that shows the casting, it 
states the pattern number and the number of core boxes 
for the casting. 

The order for a casting is made out in triplicate. The 
same information is given as before, with the addition 
of the pattern number and the number of cores the cast- 
ing requires. 

The triplicate orders are sent to the pattern storage 
man who gets out the patterns and core boxes. They 
are sent to the foundry, with the triplicate casting or- 
ders. 

One order goes to the core maker with the core boxes. 
This notifies him of the number of cores to make. The 
other two orders go to the foundry foreman, or his as- 
sistant. He gives one, together with the pattern, to the 
molder, and on the other he enters the molder's number. 
At the end of the day he gives the order to the rough 
storage or casting storage man. This is the notification 
to the casting storage man to watch for these castings. 



60 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

If the molder fails to make the full number of cast- 
ings called for on an order, or if there is a shortage on 
account of bad work, the casting storage man notifies 
the foundry foreman in writing, giving the molder 's 
number, and the name, etc., of the casting. This is a 
copy of the casting order, but is on different colored 
paper. Constant shortage from one molder shows 
strongly. These slips are kept as records of the mold- 
er's bad work. 

In the machine shop when work falls behind the ma- 
chine order slip is called in and replaced by a similar 
slip of bright red. On this slip is given the date on 
which the piece must be finished. The same change is 
made with the job tag — a red one is substituted for the 
white. The red tag must be used sparingly, otherwise 
it will lose its effect. 

Taking Care of Patterns 

If a plant is large and has many patterns to take care 
of, a good system is to number the tiers of pattern stor- 
age shelves and letter the shelves in a tier. Make out 
a book of pattern numbers. Enter opposite each num- 
ber the shelf number and letter. The patterns are 
stamped with their shelf number and letters. This sys- 
tem makes a firm completely independent of its pattern 
storage man. Any one can run the pattern storage de- 
partment without previous knowledge of the patterns 
or their location in the storage rooms. 

Short Cuts 

Number the requisition orders for material that the 
plant buys from outside firms thus: 

Start all January orders with a 1; February with a 
2 ; March with a 3, etc. The first order in January will 
be 1-1; the second 1-2; the ninth will be 1-9; the tenth 



RESULTS OF PRODUCTION METHODS 61 

will be 1-10; the ninety-ninth will be 1-99; the hun- 
dredth will be 1-100. In actual practice omit the dash. 
The above numbers will then be: No. 11 for the first; 
No. 12 for the second; No. 19 for the ninth; No. 110 
for the tenth; No. 199 for the ninety-ninth, and No. 
1100 for the hundredth. 

The advantage of this system is that the order num- 
ber tells the date as well as the number. 

An ingenious system of tabulating in a small space 
numbers that run in the thousands, such as the shop 
numbers of machines under construction, is to use a 
cross-ruled sheet, one page for each one hundred num- 
bers. The columns across the top are headed 0, 10, 20, 
30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90. Down the left-hand edge 
they are numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. 

Number 22678 would be in the square where number 
70 vertical column crossed number 8 horizontal column 
on the page of numbers running from 22600 to 22699, 
thus : 



The next sheet above this would be 22700 to 22799. 

To record all the numbers from 22600 to 22699 in 
full, in the regular way, would take over three times the 
space, and about five times the time, with a greater 
chance of error than with this svstem. 



62 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

The making of a record running into the thousands 
with this system is the mere jotting down of a cross or 
other check mark, in the correct square. These squares 
can be made large so that more than one kind of a rec- 
ord can be made in each by using different kinds of 
check marks. 



ARTICLE VI 
ACCURATE DELIVERY PROMISES 



How to Ascertain the Time to Manufacture 
an Article Involving Foundry and Machine 
Shop Operations — Use Made of Complaints 



THE superintendent can give an accurate delivery 
promise by making a time schedule of that cast- 
ing on a given job which takes the longest time 
to get through the plant. Other parts of the job need 
not be considered, if it is assumed that they will arrive 
at the assembling floor before this controlling casting 
gets there, and steps are taken to insure that they will. 
The time required by this casting is the shortest pos- 
sible time in which the complete job can be turned out. 
In busy times the superintendent should add to this 
time an amount representing the time that the casting 
under consideration has to wait to get into the various 
machines. To do this he must know how far behind the 
plant is in its work. If the total possible tonnage out- 
put of the plant per month is known and compared 
with the total tonnage of the orders on hand to be filled, 
the number of months, or the fraction of a month that 
the plant is behind is shown. This time, added to the 
shortest schedule time, will give the total time any 
given order will require in the shop. 

The material routing clerk sees that all the other 
parts are routed through the shop so that they arrive at 
the erecting floor ahead of the controlling piece. At 
the time the controlling piece arrives on the erecting 
floor an erecting order is written by the routing clerk. 



64 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

He passes the bill of material to the finished stores de- 
partment, which checks all the material to see that no 
part is missing. If a part is missing the material rout- 
ing clerk is notified and he sees that the part is rushed 
to the erecting department so as not to delay the erect- 
ing. 

Determining the Accumulation of Work in Departments 

It is a good plan to mark the weight on each order. 
File the order sheet under the name of the department 
in the plant in which the commanding casting is. Thus 
one portion of the order sheets will be under the office, 
drafting room and pattern shop division of the file, an- 
other portion will be under the foundry, another under 
the machine shop and still another under the erecting 
division of the order file. It is well to divide the ma- 
chine shop portion of the file into two divisions one 
representing the first machines that the commanding 
casting goes to, and the other representing the later 
machines. 

Once a week the weights of all the orders in each 
division of the file are added up and a table is made 
giving the weight of orders in each department. Then 
by dividing the pounds of orders in each department by 
the average daily tonnage capacity of the plant, the 
number of days' work ahead in each department is 
shown. This indicates whether or not more men should 
be put to work in any department. Keep the correct 
number of men in each department. If a plant has 
more men than work, the output per man will drop and 
the cost rise. If the work accumulates, the customer 
will suffer. 

When the plant gets far behind in its orders it is a 
good idea at intervals — say once in two weeks — to 
make a list of all orders on hand, arranging them in 



ACCURATE DELIVERY PROMISES 65 

the order of their shipping dates. Place the most ur- 
gent order at the top of the list, the next second, etc. 
Give copies of this list to each of the foremen and straw 
bosses. 

Such a system will insure shipments being made on 
the promised date, assuming, of course, that judgment 
is used in making up these dates. Of course, this list 
will be continually rearranged. Some orders will be 
inserted ahead of others. Where a special case comes 
up, even a new order may be inserted near the head of 
the list. 

Figuring the Time of Completing an Article 

The system may be made clearer by an example. 
Suppose, by observing the weights of pumps shipped 
during a stretch of time when the plant is pushed to the 
limit, the output is found to be 10,000 pounds per day. 
The weight of each pump ordered is placed on the order 
sheet. If the weight is unknown its estimated weight 
is placed on the sheet. These order sheets for pumps 
still to be built are filed, as mentioned elsewhere, in a 
file which is divided into the following department sec- 
tions : ( 1 ) office, drafting room and pattern shop ; ( 2 ) 
foundry; (3) boring lathes; (4) other machines than 
boring lathes, and (5) erecting. 

On the first and fifteenth of each month the weights 
on these order sheets are added up for each depart- 
ment. Suppose these weights are as follows: 48,000 
pounds of pumps held up by office, drafting room and 
pattern shop; 25,000 pounds of pumps in the foundry; 
100,000 pounds of pumps waiting to have the cylinders 
bored; 160,000 pounds of pumps the cylinders of which 
have been bored, but all of the controlling parts of 
which are not as yet on the erecting floor; 160,000 
pounds of pumps in the erecting department- With 



qq SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

an output capacity of 10,000 pounds per day, the plant 
then has 4 4/5 days' work held up by office, drafting 
room and pattern shop, 2% days' work in the foundry, 
10 days' work by the boring lathes, 16 days' work in 
other machines than boring lathes and 16 days' work 
for the erecting floor. From these figures it is a simple 
matter to tell how long a pump will be delayed in the 
plant by the orders that are ahead of it, if it takes its 
turn. 

Providing a Date Schedule for Rush Orders 

The time it will take to rush a single order through 
the plant ahead of everything, regardless of the other 
orders, is ascertained as follows: Each pump has some 
one part on it that takes longer to get through the 
plant than any of the other parts. This is the part that 
controls the shipping date. Suppose it to be a pump 
cylinder. A schedule is made out on this part thus: 



January 2- 


-Cores made. 


January 3- 


-Casting poured. 


January 4- 


-Casting cleaned. 


January 5- 


-Sunday. 


January 6- 


-Bore. 


January 7- 


-Mill. 


January 8- 


-Drill and tap for seats. 


January 9- 


-Clean and seat. 


January 10- 


-Erect. 


January 11- 


-Erect and test. 


January 12- 


-Sunday. 


January 13- 


-Ship. 



A copy of this schedule is given to each of the fore- 
men and one to the material routing clerk. This esti- 
mate of the time allowance for each step in the work in 
the schedule is obtained from each of the foremen, so 
that the schedule is the foreman's own estimate of the 
time it takes to get the controlling piece through his 
department. This being so, the foreman sees to it that 
the piece goes through on time. 



ACCURATE DELIVERY PROMISES 67 

Utilizing Complaints from Customers 

Whenever a customer makes a complaint about a 
flaw or bad workmanship, give a copy of the letter to 
each of the foremen, testers, inspectors, etc., that are 
implicated. It will have a stimulating effect, and will 
put these men right in the game. An improved pro- 
duct and a reduction in the number of kicks will result. 



ARTICLE VII 
COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 

A System Designed to Give Accurate Infor- 
mation with Special Effort to Minimize the 
Clerical Labor Required of Shop Employees 

EACH lot of pieces to be made is given a job num- 
ber. The workman gets the number from the 
job tag or instruction tag which is tied to one of 
the pieces of the lot. The foreman can get it from his 
machine order, and the cost department gets it from a 
carbon duplicate of the foreman's machine order. 

Each workman is provided with a pad of blank time 
tickets with the hour and quarter-hours of the day 
printed in a straight line across the bottom. He places 
a cross on the hour or quarter-hour mark on the ticket 
that represents the time at which he starts the job, and 
another cross on the hour or quarter-hour mark show- 
ing the time at which he finishes the job. He draws a 
connecting line between these two crosses. He also 
enters on the slip the job number, the total number of 
pieces in the lot (quantity) and his own clock number 
and the date. If he is a machine man, he also enters 
the number of his machine. 

He further checks off on time slip the operation that 
he performed, whether it be lathe, planing, milling or 
drilling work, if he is a machine hand, or tapping, 
scraping or studding if he is an assembler. This check- 
ing consists of drawing a line through the word. The 
system is simple to explain to the workman and simple 



70 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

for him to follow, for there is no writing connected 
with it. 

The claim is sometimes made that the time would be 
more accurately taken by a clock, which automatically 
stamps the time of starting and finishing a job. The 
men should not leave their machines every time they 
start a new job. It must be remembered that cost-keep- 
ing is of secondary importance. The profits are made at 
the points of the tools, and it is of the utmost import- 
ance to keep the men at their machines. That output 
is the main object must never be lost sight of. A firm 
with an enormous output per man and no cost system is 
better off than one with a fine cost system and a low 
output per man. 

For each new job, the workman makes out a new 
time slip. At the end of the day the quitting time is 
marked even if the job is not done, and all the time slips 
for the day are sent to the cost department. The next 
morning the workman makes out a new time slip for 
the unfinished job, which will, of course, have the same 
job number as that of the day before. If the workman's 
starting time on one job does not exactly correspond to 
the finishing time of the previous job, the cost depart- 
ment will notify him, and the proper correction will be 
made. 

A different colored time slip is used for each depart- 
ment to enable the cost department to separate at sight 
the slips of the various departments from each other. 
On the time slips there is also printed, for special work, 
a list of those departments that are likely to have work 
done for them, such as office, machine shop, foundry, 
pattern shop, yard, power, etc. To reduce the size of 
the time slips the department names are abbreviated, 
and a number of instruction sheets are posted under 
glass throughout the plant, explaining these abbrevia- 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 



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72 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

tions. When a man does a repair job for one of these 
departments, instead of writing a job number, he 
draws a line through the name of the department for 
which the work is done. The cost department then 
charges his time against that department. 

In cost-keeping there must be a checking or proving 
that will detect any mistakes made either by the work- 
man or in the figuring of the costs. The following is 
the method of checking used by the shop with which the 
author is connected. 

Checking up Time Slips 

1. All the time slips are assorted according to clock 
numbers (employees' numbers). 

2. To detect the failure of any workman to send in 
his time slips, the clock numbers on the time slips are 
compared with a previously prepared list of clock num- 
bers representing the men who should send in their 
time on slips. As soon as a new man sends in time slips, 
his name is added to the list. 

3. Each day a list of those employees who should 
have sent in time slips but who failed to do so is made 
out. From the list those who were absent are struck 
off. 

4. This list is then sent into the factory, and the 
missing time slips are collected. 

Checking Hours and Wages 

1. The hours and quarter-hours, as put down by the 
workman in the shape of two crosses connected by a 
line, are entered in a space for this purpose on the time 
slip. This entry represents the time that was taken to 
do the job. For simplicity, no time is figured for less 
than a quarter of an hour. The amount of wages for 
the time represented by the slip is entered on the slip. 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 73 

2. The total of each man's wages for the day, as 
shown by the time slips is compared with his wages for 
the day, as placed in the time book by the time-keeper. 
Two girls work together on this checking, one handling 
the slips and the other the time book. 

If the amounts correspond it shows that no mistake 
has been made by the workman, the cost-keeping de- 
partment, or the wage pay department. Thus: the 
workman has made out his time slips correctly; his jobs 
do not overlap or fall short of each other; the starting 
time on his new job is the same time as the finishing 
time on the previous one ; the cost-keeping girl has com- 
puted the graphically marked time of the workman 
correctly, and set it correctly down on the slips; the 
cost-keeping girl has calculated correctly the amount 
of pay due for the computed time and correctly entered 
it on the time slips. The time-keeper has correctly 
figured the man's time and wages and entered them 
correctly in the time book. 

If the amounts do not correspond the mistake is lo- 
cated and corrected. If it is the workmen's mistake the 
shop is notified, and the error is rectified. 

Separating Department Charges 

The time slips for each day are separated according 
to the following departments: Machine, assembling, 
erecting and non-productive. The non-productive 
slips are further separated into departments. The 
wages and hours are totaled in each of the classes and 
sub-classes of time slips. Specimen slips are shown in 
Figs. 6 to 9. 

A daily sheet is then made out on a printed form, 
Fig. 10. The above totals are all entered on this sheet, 
which gives the total number of hours for each depart- 
ment, and also the total wages for each department. It 



74 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

further gives the total amount of money spent for ma- 
terial for each department, and all other expenses con- 
nected with that department. That is, any money 
spent during the day, no matter for what purpose, 
whether for pay-roll, material, insurance, taxes or work 
done by an outside firm, is placed on this sheet, 
charged to some department or to some division of the 
business. The items in these daily sheets added to- 
gether make the monthly sheets. From them is made 
out the yearly sheet. 

The principal object of this sheet is to show the pro- 
portion which the overhead, or non-productive, expense 
bears to the productive expense. This is the "pro- 
rate." Besides the pro-rate, this sheet gives the cost in 
each department, and thereby is useful to the manager 
or superintendent in keeping close watch of depart- 
ment costs. 

At intervals the amount of non-productive labor sent 
to the office will have to be looked into, as there is al- 
ways a temptation to send in non-productive time 
which could be charged to jobs. The writer knows of 
one case where the non-productive labor rose to 62 cents 
per hour, and was decreased to 42 cents per hour by 
carefully scrutinizing all non-productive time slips. 

After all the time slips have been separated accord- 
ing to departments, and non-productive hours and 
money have been entered on the daily sheet, the total 
number of hours are added together and compared 
with the total number of hours in the time book. These 
must correspond. This is the check to show that no 
person on the pay-roll has been missed, and that no 
labor cost that should have been charged to a depart- 
ment has been overlooked. 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 



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76 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Apportioning Time to Job Numbers 

All the time slips are filed according to job numbers. 
The girl while doing this sees that the number of pieces 
worked on, as marked on the time slip, is the same as 
the duplicate machine order that was received on the 
job when it was started. When there is a difference, 
the time slips are sent to the shop for correction. This 
acts as a check. Sometimes workmen put down the 
wrong job number and the discrepancy in quantity will 
disclose the mistake. 

These time slips remain filed until the notification 
comes in that the job is finished. 

Ascertaining the Cost of Individual Parts 

The cost of an individual part of a machine is called 
the fiat cost of the piece, and the cost card is known as 
the flat cost card. Each one of these cards has space on 
it for entering the itemized time and cost of the piece 
four times, which gives a chance for comparison. A 
new flat cost card for a certain piece is never made out 
until the last one is completely filled. 

These flat cost cards are filed in boxes in the order of 
their combination numbers. The name of the piece, the 
combination number, and the drawing card number are 
written at the left-hand edge so that the cards can be 
rapidly handled. These items are copied from the ma- 
chine order duplicate that has been filed with the shop- 
workman's time slips. 

The combination number is the design number of 
one size of a pump as a whole, as it was built, and dif- 
ferentiates the size, style and design of the pump down 
to the smallest detail from all other designs, sizes and 
styles. Combination No. 1900, for instance, by re- 
ferring to the master production list or bill of material, 
shows exactly what parts were used on the pump. No 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 77 

pump with combination No. 1900 will be built any dif- 
ferently. If a slight change in the shape of any of the 
parts should be made on this combination a new com- 
bination number would be given. The material may 
be changed in certain parts without a change in the 
combination number. Rubber valves may be changed 
for brass or a brass piston rod may be changed to 
steel. Or even a brass cylinder may be placed in the 
pump instead of cast iron, provided exactly the same 
design and pattern is used. Changing the material, 
however, without changing the combination number is 
allowed only on a few certain parts that are always 
specified by the customer in his original order. 

When a piece, or a lot of one kind of pieces, is 
completely finished in the shop, the shop sends in 
the original machine order to the cost depart- 
ment stamped "Finished." When the cost clerk re- 
ceives this original machine order stamped "Finished" 
he takes all the shop-workman's time slips, which have 
the same job number as the machine order, to his desk. 
These shop-workman's time slips have been gathered 
up daily from the workmen and have been accumulat- 
ing in the cost department files while the job was in 
progress. 

The clerk then takes to his desk the flat cost card, 
Fig. 11, having the same combination number, card 
number and name of piece on it as the machine order 
which was marked "Finished." If no such card be 
found in the files, or if the card be full, a new card is 
started. The information on the shop-workman's time 
slips and the machine order are now entered on this flat 
cost card. The date, the quantity worked on and the 
job number are placed at the top of the card. The ma- 
terial of which the piece is made and the cost rate at 
which the material is figured are placed next. This last 



78 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

is done so that if material rates change in the future, 
the cards can still be used by making the correction. 
Next is entered the weight of the piece. All these items 
are copied from the machine order. 

The weight entered is the rough weight before any 
work has been done on the piece. No credit is given for 
stock removed. When the piece is made from bar 
stock, the dimensions of the stock are entered on the 
machine order instead of the weight. The cost depart- 
ment has tables for transposing these dimensions to 
weights. 

The sequence of operations then is: 

1. Separate from the others all the shop- workman's 
time slips that have notes on them referring to bad 
workmanship or flaws in material. A special note is 
made of this extra time and extra expense, not on the 
flat cost card, but on the final cost of the machine as a 
whole, because it is assumed that this particular extra 
expense will not happen again. What is wanted on 
the flat cost is the true cost of the piece as it would have 
been had the work gone smoothly. This extra time and 
expense must not be thrown away, and therefore it is 
charged to the finished machine as a whole. 

2. Separate from the others all the shop -workman's 
time slips that have special notes on them referring to 
the number of pieces thrown out as bad. These notes 
are put on the flat cost card of the piece in red ink. 

3. Separate the shop-workman's machine time slips 
from the erecting and assembling slips. They are of 
different colors. 

4. Separate the machine time slips so that all the 
slips of one man are together. 

5. On the flat cost card, in the proper column, lathe, 
planer, shaper, etc., enter the number of the man's ma- 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 



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chine, the hours he spent on the lot of pieces, and also 
the wage cost on the lot. 

6. Assort the handwork, or assembling slips accord- 
ing to the different hand operations, such as laying out, 
filing, tapping, studding, polishing, chipping, scrap- 
ing, cleaning, piping, keying, testing, etc. Enter the 
number of hours spent and the wage cost for each of 
the above hand operations in the proper place on the 
flat cost card. 

7- Total the machine hours and wages on the flat cost 
card and enter the amounts in their proper places at 
the bottom. Do the same with the assembling time. 
Add the total machine time to the total assembling 
time, and divide by the number of pieces in the lot. 
This is entered in the place marked "Hours on each 
piece." The same operation is performed with the 
wage costs. Finally this cost card is filed in the flat 
cost card file according to its combination number and 
card number. 

All erecting time on a machine as a whole is charged 
to the erecting job number of the machine. An erect- 
ing cost card is made out in the same way as the flat 
cost card for a piece. 

The flat cost per pound should be placed on each flat 
cost card. Long time taken on a piece, wrong time sent 
in on a piece, mistakes in figuring the costs of labor and 
material then will be easily discovered. The design or 
the method of manufacture will be changed on all 
pieces that show a cost over a certain rate per pound. 
A marked reduction in the cost of the product can be 
made if the above is carried out. 

Ascertaining the Cost of a Complete Machine 

When the machine is finished, the bill of material is 
sent to the cost department marked "Finished." The 
cost department gets from the drafting room an exact 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 81 

duplicate sheet of this bill of material and the following 
routine ensues: 

1. The cost department pastes at the right-hand edge 
of the blank bill of material a large ruled and printed 
form (Fig. 12) made especially for the purpose of cost 
figuring. 

2. All notes that the shop has made on the original 
bill of material are transferred to the blank bill of ma- 
terial. Next, all the machine job numbers are trans- 
ferred from the shop bill of material to the blank list. 
Then all the items mentioned as being sent on the fit- 
ting list are entered. 

3. All the flat cost cards are taken out of the files 
pertaining to this bill of material. Only those are used 
that have the same job number as the job number given 
on the bill of material. Where no job number is given 
it shows that the shop got the piece from finished stock. 
In this case the latest cost on the piece is used. 

Next, all weight items from the flat cost cards for 
each piece and also hours' labor for each piece are en- 
tered. The columns are then added and the totals are 
entered. The adding machine is used on the long addi- 
tions to save expense and to insure accuracy. 

The final condensed cost of the completely finished 
machine is put on a card about 4x6 inches. On it are 
the following items: 

Size and style of machine and order number. 

Machine labor value. 

Assembling labor on parts, value. 

Erecting labor. 

Machine hours. 

Assembling hours. 

Erecting hours. 

Total productive labor hours. 

The total productive labor hours are multiplied by 
the pro rate per hour, which gives the overhead ex- 



gg SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

pense that the machine has to carry. This value is en- 
tered on the card. The following items also appear: 

Value of purchased material. 
Value of rough material. 
Weight of cast-iron castings. 

Rate figured at cents. 

Weight of brass castings. 

Rate figured at cents. 

These items are put on so that if the rate changes the 
corrected cost can be figured. 

Weight of other material. 

Rate figured at cents. 

Painting and skidding. 

Freight. 

Weight of finished machine. 

The hours of erecting can be sub-divided if the firm 
builds a machine that sometimes has extras, that at 
other times are omitted. The erecting of these extras 
can be kept separate and entered as separate items on 
the card. On the back of the card are written details 
that tell how the machine is built. 

These main items are copied direct from the totals 
at the bottom of the large bill of material cost sheet, 
Fig. 12, excepting the erecting time and value. This is 
taken from the erecting flat cost card. The pro rate is 
figured from the yearly cost sheet, as previously men- 
tioned. 

All special notes are added to the cost card, such as 
time and value of extra machine work that had to be 
done after the parts were considered finished; testing 
and cleaning, second erection, second testing, pattern 
time and pattern labor cost. Where a machine is made 
by changing the pattern of some other machine, the 
cost of alteration should be added to the cost of the 
machine, as the customer should pay the expense of 
pattern changes. 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 



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84 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Painting and skidding are taken from a separate flat 
cost card made out in the same manner as the other flat 
cost cards, and entered on the condensed cost card. 
The total cost is then summed up and entered on the 
same card. The selling price also is put on the cost 
card as is the profit and also the percentage of profit. 

Use Made of Cost per Pound Records 

After the total cost has been summed up the cost per 
pound is entered on the card. This is based on the net 
weight ; that is, the weight without the skids. The cost 
per pound is useful as a rough check on costs. If the 
cost per pound on any particular machine is higher than 
the cost per pound of other sizes of the same style of 
machine, it is at once evident that something is radically 
wrong in the manufacturing, which must be corrected. 
The cost per pound is useful also in making estimates 
for new work. The setting of the selling price on a 
machine, the cost of which is not known, is a delicate 
undertaking. The price must not be so high that the 
order is lost, nor so low that money is lost. 

Accurate selling prices can be made on machines 
where the cost per pound is known on similar machines. 
Where costs are hazy there is a temptation to sell at or 
below cost. A known cost of manufacture stops this. 

The cost system described above is simple. Two or 
three girls can take care of the time-keeping and the 
cost-keeping for a firm employing two hundred men, 
and turning out a diversified product. No part of the 
cost-keeping system is carried on by any one in the 
shop. The cost-keeping is simply tacked on the shop 
routing system. 

Figuring Pro Rate or Overhead Expense 

From the yearly expense sheet, made out by the cost- 
keeping department, the pro rate is made. 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 85 

One of two systems can be used for this charge. 
Either take a certain fixed percentage of the product- 
ive cost (labor plus material), make this the pro rate 
and add it to the productive cost, and call this the final 
cost, or add a certain fixed amount, so many cents, for 
each productive hour worked on the product. The 
amount to be added for each productive hour is taken 
from the previous year's proportion of total overhead 
expenses to the total number of productive hours for 
the whole year. For instance, suppose that total over- 
head expense for the entire year divided by the total 
number of productive hours was 45 cents. Then to get 
a true cost, to the flat cost of each productive hour 45 
cents must be added to carry all the other expenses. 
The productive hours are those hours actually charged 
by the workmen to a particular piece or particular ma- 
chine. The overhead expense means every charge of 
any kind, no matter what it be, above the productive 
labor and the material that is directly charged to the 
product. 

This last system is the only correct one to use. It 
favors those jobs where the hours of labor are few as 
compared to material cost. It strongly favors those 
jobs that are completed in very short times. It thus 
encourages rapid work and makes it impossible to em- 
ploy slow men in a plant. 

A plant using the first mentioned pro rate system 
can increase its capacity by adopting the second sys- 
tem, because the second system favors work that takes 
few productive hours as compared to the material cost 
and discourages the taking of orders having labor cost 
that is high as compared with the material cost. 

A plant run to its maximum capacity has only a fixed 
number of hours that its men can put in on the work. 
Any system favoring the taking of orders requiring 



86 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

but an hour's work will increase the output of the plant 
and likewise the profits. A firm should make its main 
profit on the labor of its men, machine tools and plant 
and not on the material it uses. The labor item is the 
output restrictor of a plant. 

Firms engaged in a class of work where a large 
amount of material is finished by a small amount of la- 
bor can make money when selling their output at a 
profit of 5 per cent., because their tonnage output per 
year is enormous, whereas, a firm whose main expense 
is labor would go into bankruptcy at the same low per- 
centage of profit, their output being limited. The per- 
centage of pro rate or overhead expense in a plant will 
increase as the output per workman increases, because: 

1. The keeping of tools in a high state of efficiency 
and the employing of efficient foremen must increase 
expenses. Moreover, hard driven tools require con- 
stant repairs and replacement, and, furthermore, labor- 
saving devices, such as jigs, fixtures and special small 
tools, are expensive. 

2. All reduction in productive labor means a reduc- 
tion in the productive labor force. Each producer must 
carry more of the overhead expense as the force is re- 
duced. It is possible to take a plant whose output of 
finished machines averages 44 pounds per day for each 
productive workman, and increase this average to 110 
pounds per man for each day's work by improvement 
in design, changes in the amount of finish and methods 
of doing the work, by employing good workmen and 
requiring them to turn out a large output. 

The overhead expense will be less on each machine 
turned out than it was before the plant output was 
raised, but compared to the productive labor expense, 
which has been reduced in amount, the pro rate will 
show up proportionally higher, all on account of good 



COST KEEPING IN A FACTORY 87 

management. Take the imaginary case of a firm 
equipped and managed so well that its whole output 
was turned out by one productive workman. This one 
man would have to carry the whole overhead expense. 
It stands to reason that his pro rate per hour would be 
something enormous. 

The best way to watch the overhead expense, in order 
to keep it down, is to compare the year's total expendi- 
ture for each item with the corresponding expense of 
the preceding year. When considering whether it 
would be cheaper to buy certain parts of the product 
already finished or make these parts in the shop, use the 
flat cost, without the pro rate added. The pro rate is 
a charge that the customer must pay so that the over- 
head expense of a plant may be taken care of. 



ARTICLE VIII 
PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 

Things to Be Considered in Pattern-Making 
to Minimize Investment in Patterns and an 
Unwise Amount of Work in the Machine Shop 

THE design of a plant's product often determines 
whether or not the plant will make money. A 
design which involves complicated core work in 
the foundry, difficult and close machine work, or which 
is inconvenient to assemble will eat up all the profits by 
a high labor cost. The proportion that the labor cost 
bears to the material cost on a machine must be known 
in order to design intelligently. This makes it possible 
to judge whether or not an increase in material that 
decreases labor will pay. 

When Not to Save Metal in the Product 

For instance, thicken a casting if this saves enough 
time and lost castings in the foundry to more than pay 
for the extra metal. On the other hand if the value of 
the material saved will be more than the expense of the 
extra labor incurred, it may pay to design so that hand- 
work is done which would have been avoided had more 
metal been allowed. This would be true of brasswork 
where material cost is a big item. In considering costs 
in this light, the overhead expense must not be added, 
as that is merely a charge that the customer must pay 
to take care of the running expenses of the plant. 

Wherever possible, machinery should be designed on 
the unit plan. Divide portions of the machine into 



90 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

units. Use one unit on as many different sizes of ma- 
chines as possible. These units can be manufactured in 
lots and producing methods which will result in econ- 
omy can be worked out in great detail. 

The designer must consider not only the strength of 
the machine he is building but must keep his eye on the 
pattern shop, the foundry and the machine shop all the 
time. He must so design that the work done in each 
will decrease to the greatest possible extent the labor 
cost in the next following department. The patterns 
should be made to save the molder's time. Likewise, 
the casting should be such that no more machining need 
be done than is absolutely necessary. 

Pattern Drafts 

Allow 4 degrees draft on the outside of all patterns. 
Show this on the drawings. Do not depend on the pat- 
tern shop to get it. Allow 10 degrees draft on the sides 
of a cast hole made by green sand. See that these holes 
are brass bushed or brass lined in the pattern. The 
sand will draw smoothly and the cast hole will need no 
drilling or filing to clean out bumps or fins. Unless 
these rules are followed it will cost more to cast holes 
than to drill them. 

The words "Give abnormal draft to all patterns" 
should be painted on large signs all over the walls of the 
drafting room and the pattern shop. They should be 
drilled into every one who does any pattern or drawing 
work. If the patterns are designed and built with big 
draft, there will be a saving made in the foundry that 
will pay the draftsmen's salaries many times over. Be- 
sides reducing the cost of molding, good draft will in- 
sure the casting being absolutely true to the pattern, 
because all the handwork, patching of the mold, etc., 
will be eliminated. This will permit a great reduction 



PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 2T 

in the amount of finish to be allowed on castings, which 
often means a reduction of one- third in the machining 
time. A foundryman once said: "I want so much 
draft on a pattern that I have to lay pigs of iron on it 
to keep it from jumping out of the sand of its own ac- 
cord." 

Designing with an Eye to the Cores 

Design so that most of a pattern is in the drag and 
the least amount in the core. The core part of a casting 
costs 3 cents per pound ; the drag part only 2 cents. Get 
as much of the casting at 2-cent rate, and as little at the 
3-cent rate as is practicable. Never design a piece with 
underarm (parts of pattern that have to be drawn out 
of the mold horizontally) . Such a casting will cost 4 
or 5 cents per pound. A green sand core that the pat- 
tern leaves must be in the drag part of mold. 

Never design so that cores will have to be hung on 
the sides of a mold. It takes as long to secure these 
cores as it does to make an entire mold. Design such 
cores as port cores, of as nearly a square section as pos- 
sible. Avoid the extreme flattened section. The square 
section cores are less trouble in the foundry because 
they are easily rodded and vented, and they can be 
handled with less danger of breaking. 

In many places a cast bolt slot will replace a cast 
bolt hole. If slots are used, the parting of the mold 
should come at the end of the slot, not half way down in 
the slot, else a shift of the mold would narrow the slot 
and give the assembler handwork. 

Cored holes that afterward have to be drilled, unless 
they are quite large or deep, are bad. With the modern 
high speed steel drills, the relief of the hole by coring 
is of little help. The sand that is burned into the cast- 
ing may necessitate regrinding the drill every five holes. 



92 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

The grinding time on the drills will more than equal the 
time saved by the cored clearance holes, and omitting 
the coring will reduce the molding cost. 

One Pattern for a Number of Shapes 

Where a single pattern is used to make a number of 
different shapes of castings, have that part of the pat- 
tern that receives the change made separate from the 
body of the pattern. It should be doweled on and also 
held with screws. A pattern of this character would 
be for work that does not come up often enough to pay 
for a separate pattern for each class of casting. The 
core boxes may be separated in the same way at the 
same point. With this arrangement only a few min- 
utes work is needed in order to change from one pattern 
to another. 

The usual way of making such changes is to hunt 
through a mass of pieces that were used before, and nail 
them to the pattern, thus gradually ruining it. The 
mass is sent down to the foundry with a bunch of stop- 
off pieces, to set the molder and the foundry foreman 
worrying over the hieroglyphics of chalk marks and 
stop-offs. The result is a bumpy casting, costing 4 or 
5 cents per pound, instead of a fine smooth casting, 
costing 2 or 2% cents per pound, and the chances are 
that the casting will be lost from dirt, drop out or wash. 

Allowances for Finish in Machining 

The designer can save the machine shop lots of work 
by dimensioning the patterns so that there is no great 
excess of metal to be machined off. The following al- 
lowances for finish are about right: 

Cylindrical work where the surface is crossed by the 
molding parting. — A round bar, cast horizontally in a 



PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 93 

mold, is a good illustration. In this style of a casting 
there is a chance for mold shift. 

3/32-in. finish on a side of pieces 1H in. in diameter. 
3/32-in. finish on each side of pieces up to 3 in. in diameter. 
1/8-in. finish on a side of pieces 6 in. in diameter. 
1/8-in. finish on each side of pieces up to 8 in. in diameter. 

If the piece is long, and, for this reason, likely to be 
out of true in the rough, double the above allowances for 
finish. 

Surface not crossed by a parting, such as a piece cast 
on end. — A shift on this casting is impossible. 

3/64-in. finish on each side of piece 1 H in. in diameter. 
3/64-in. finish on each side of piece 3 in. in diameter. 
1/16-in. finish on each side of piece 6 in. in diameter. 
1/8-in. finish on each side of piece 12 in. in diameter. 
3/16-in. finish on each side of piece 40 in. in diameter. 

On small and medium-sized cylindrical castings that 
are cast on end the pattern has to be given draft. It is 
best to leave no finish at the small end of the taper, and 
to depend on the taper of the draft of the pattern to give 
the finish. 

l/32-in. depth of cut is a heavy cut when turning a piece 1 J^ in.in diameter 
1/16-in depth of cut is as heavy as an 18 in. lathe will pull economically. 
3/32-in. depth of cut is a good cut in turning a piece 10 in. in diameter on a 

20-in. lathe. 
1/8-in. depth of cut with 1/9-in. feed is a heavy cut on a cast-iron bar 8 in. 

in diameter. 

For Boring Cylinders. 

Allow 1/8-in. finish on each side of a 2-in. to 8-in. bore. 

3/32-in. finish on each side of an 8-in. to 11-in. bore. 
1/4-in. finish on each side of an 11-in. or larger bore. 

Allow for one roughing cut and one finishing cut on 
all cylinders up to 11 inches in diameter. Allow for two 
roughing cuts and one finishing cut on cylinders 11 
inches in diameter and larger. 

In the foundry have the cylinder core made in a full 
cast-iron core box which has been bored out perfectly 



94 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

true and to size. Have the cores dried in half dryers, 
made exactly the same as the core box. Have the cores 
a tight fit in the core prints of the molds. 

Finish on ends of pattern where mold parting crosses,, 
such as the ends of a steam cylinder. Have the surface 
beveled from the edge of the flange to the bore of the 
cylinder. Allow no finish at the outside edge, and de- 
pend on the heavy bevel of the draft to give the finish. 

Offset Shoulder. — A small offset cast on a piece that 
corresponds to an offset that is to be machined on the 
piece should be made a bevel on the pattern and not a 
square edge. See Fig. 13. Leave no finish at the very 
corner of the offset. This bevel will prevent the 
sand burning into the corner, and will save the cutting 
tool, thus speeding up the work. 






Fig. 13 — Casting for an Offset Shoulder 

Design Details to Save Machine Work 

The designer will save the machine shop much work 
and save much money for his firm, if he will observe a 
few details which make it easier for the machine shop to 
accomplish its end of the job. 

Use through holes wherever possible. These are more 
quickly drilled, as no attention has to be paid to depth. 
Where the hole is tapped, one tap can be run through 
instead of using two or three as with a closed bottom 
hole. A through hole is easier to stud or to put a cap 
screw into as no attention need be paid to cleaning out 
the chips in the bottom of the hole. Where tapped holes 
bottom, design them twice as deep as the diameter of the 
tap in order to take care of the chips and the taper end 
on the first tap. A 34-inch tap is ground back 5/16 inch. 



PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 95 

The stud is run into the hole % inch. There should be 
an extra allowance at the bottom for chips of 5/16 inch 
making a total depth of 1% inches or twice the %-inch 
diameter. 

The following table of cast clearance holes will be 
found useful : 

Diameter of Cast Clearance Holes for Studs. s~\ 

j^-in. stud, 15/32-in. hole at smallest point. 
3^-in. stud, 19/32-in. hole at smallest point. <- — 

%-in. stud, 3/4-in. hole at smallest point. \ 

J^-in. stud, 1-in. hole at smallest point. 

Diameter of Cast Clearance Holes for Cap Screws. 

%-in. cap screw, 15/32-in. hole at smallest point. Fig. 14 — Suggest- 

3^-in. cap screw, 19/32-in. hole at smallest point. ed Arrangement 

%-in. cap screw, 23/32-in. hole at smallest point. of Pieces to Give 

M-in. cap screw, 27/32-in. hole at smallest point. Flexibility 
%-in. cap screw, 31/32-in. hole at smallest point. 

Great flexibility of location of one piece on another 
can be had by having the through bolts that hold the 
pieces together pass through slots in one piece that ex- 
tend at right angles to the slots in the other piece, as 
shown in Fig. 14. 

Designing to Save Time in Drilling 

The increase in drilling sped accomplished by not hav- 
ing to change drills will be considerable, so design pieces 
with the same size of holes and same size of tapped holes 
all over. Avoid designing holes smaller than can be 
made with %-inch drills. This is the most economical 
size, as drills . smaller than %-inch feed slower, break 
of tener, choke up more easily. The choking up of drills 
by the chips is especially bad when jigs are used. The 
chips will not come out through the jig bushings, and the 
jigs can only be used to start the drill. The pieces must 
be taken out of the jig in order to finish the drilling. To 
avoid this trouble a great deal of deep jig drilling nowa- 
days is done from below so that the chips will pass out 
freely. 



96 



SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 



The cost of making drilling jigs can be reduced if a 
few standard lay-outs are used. The drafting room 
should keep a table of all the different sizes of drilling 
templates that are used in the shop, and should design 
so as to utilize these wherever possible. Cast depressions 
or drill spottings, wherever possible, to locate the drill. 
Work can be drilled faster by using this method of loca- 
ting the holes than by any jig methods. It is better than 
laying out the work, as the one laying out on the pattern 
does for all time. It eliminates chucking time. It also 
has the advantage of being everlasting. A jig will wear 
out of true in a short time. 

Designing to Save Lathe Time 

Design turned corners with a groove in them so as 
they can be machined with the roughing tool, thus saving 
the time of putting in a square tool 
to finish the corner. See Fig. 15. 
If an arbor must be used, make 
it short. A 1-inch arbor 12 inches 
long will spring before the work 
slips. Where the end of a piece 
that is turned on an arbor has 
to be faced off, have a relieved 
part cast in the end at the cen- 
ter. This will save changing tools to machine the 
corner next to the arbor. 




Fig. 15 — Design of a Cast" 
ing for a Turned Corner 



Study Weaknesses Which Develop 

Keep a list of repairs in order to find the weak points 
of your product. Strengthen the design of parts that 
wear or break. Breaks in machinery are sometimes 
caused not by weakness but by carelessness, or by some 
peculiar condition or strain that the particular machine 
is under. The cause should be found and the machine 



PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 



97 



should be changed to make it foolproof. If this is im- 
possible, at least the reason of the trouble is known and 
customers can be warned. This may be knowledge which 
all manufacturers may not possess, and the one posses- 
sing it is then that much ahead of the rest. 

A designer should have practical experience in the 
shop. He should not be afraid to discuss the points of 
his designs with foremen. He is not belittled by ask- 
ing their opinions. 
Without their advice 
he may go far astray. 
For instance, consid- 
er the case of two 
rods to be held to- 
gether by a long 
screw coupling. 
Suppose these rods 
must be roughly in 
line with each other. 
The design may be as 
shown in Fig. 16, 
Fig. 17 or Fig. 18. 

The design in Fig. 
16 first necessitates 
facing off the ends 
of the coupling. It 
requires the turning 
of the rod down to a 
shoulder which is ex- 




Fig. 18 
Three Ways of Designing a Rod Coupling 



pensive. It also requires threading in the engine lathe, as 
the thread must run up close to the shoulder. In doing 
this a great risk is run of getting a badly fitting thread. 
The design shown in Fig. 17 looks fine on paper. The 
thread can be cut with a die. It is bad, though, because a 
facing operation is required on the ends of the coupling 



98 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

and the assembling is made expensive since the rods will 
not be in line with each other on account of being thread- 
ed with a die and on account of the threads in the nuts 
not being true with the nut faces. These inaccuracies 
will require repeated scrapings of the nut faces to bring 
things right. 

The design shown in Fig. 18 is the cheapest way. 
Thread the rods with a die. Screw them into the coup- 
ling until they butt together. Test the rods to see which 
way they are out of line. Drop the rods and coupling 
on some solid object so that only the coupling strikes. 
This will bend the rods slightly inside the coupling and 
line them up. Drill pin hole and ream where the rods 
butt together and then drive in a pin. 

The design shown in Fig. 17 will not straighten so 
readily by dropping, because it will be more out of line 
and stiff er than that shown in Fig. 18. Any bending 
will have to come outside of the nuts where the rods are 
rigid. This illustration is given to show that a designer 
may not always select the best way. The one which on 
paper looks the cheapest may not prove so in practice. 
Every part of a design may have points like the above, 
hence it should be discussed with the pattern shop, foun- 
dry, machine and erecting shops. 

Some Fundamentals to be Observed in Design 

The little details of design are the places where money 
is made or lost. If the designer adopts the standards 
given below he will not be very far from the right track. 

A complete box shape is thirteen times more rigid 
against torsion, and four times more rigid against bend- 
ing than the same amount of material in the form of 
side plates and thin cross girds. A casting in the form 
of three sides of a box has one-tenth the strength of a 
complete four-sided casting. Note the strength of a 



PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 99 

pasteboard tube. Slit this tube from end to end and its 
strengh is gone. The same is true of cast-iron sections. 

Make the edges of flanges broad even if it takes a little 
extra metal. This gives a massive appearance to your 
machine often at little added but justifiable expense. 

Use finished steel for all pins, rods, etc. Avoid turn- 
ing of shoulders. A cheap way to make a shoulder, 
where there is no end thrust, is to slip a washer on the 
rod and hold it with a slit cotter. It is surprising in how 
many places a straight pin held with a couple of set 
screws could be used where the draftsman has designed 
with shoulders or taper ends. A straight pin, if prac- 
tical, is cheaper than a taper pin. The reaming of a 
taper hole is a slow process and requires a new reamer. 

Avoid small studs, as they are easily twisted off by the 
heavy handed. 

Use cap screws with nut-sized heads where necessary. 
This will allow the casting or drilling of large clearance 
holes. 

Screw Threads 

Even though it be an expensive change, necessitating 
the scrapping of many good taps and dies, adopt the 
U. S. standard thread. Its advantages are: Taps and 
dies bought from different makers will be of exactly the 
same size. V-thread taps made by different tap makers 
differ. There is no exact standard for the V-threads. 
Another advantage of the U. S. standard is it has a 
clearance at the top and bottom of the thread; that is, 
the very pointed edge of the threads on a bolt does not 
bear on the bottom groove of the thread of the tapped 
hole. This allows a leeway for wear of dies and taps, 
and makes the U. S. standard die or tap wear twice as 
long as a V-thread. The objection to the V-thread is 



100 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

that when the taps and dies are worn they will produce 
a threaded hole in which a bolt that is apparently a tight 
fit actually bears only at the points and not on the sides 
of the threads. Such a bolt will soon become loose. 

Adopt a few standard sizes of holes, taps, pins, rods, 
bolts, etc., rather than many ; even though they seem out 
of proportion, for in this way a smaller number of 
gauges will be required, few sizes of material need be 
kept in stock, the tool equipment will be reduced and a 
smaller toolroom will be needed. 

Use large clearance holes around cap screws and studs 
wherever possible to reduce the drilling and assembling 
costs. More time is spent accurately locating a drill 
than in drilling the hole. Large clearance holes will al- 
low the use of badly worn jigs and will save the hand- 
work in drawing over holes on the assembling floor. 

Make all oil holes % inch. Use %-inch split cotters. 

Never design so that a piece has to be threaded up 
close to a shoulder for this makes it impossible to thread 
with a die, and lathe threading is rarely accurate and is 
always expensive. 

Clearance Around Nuts 

The distance from the center of the stud to the nearest 
wall should be as in the table below. See sketch, Fig. 19. 

Dimension A, Fig. 19 

Size of Stud, In. Center of Hole to Face of Wall, In. 

3/8 9/16 

1/2 3/4 

5/8 7/8 

3/4 1 1/16 

7/8 1 3/16 

1 1 5/16 

The values in the table are the minimum distances. 
Lower values will make it necessary to back face under 
the nuts and from 4 to 8 holes can be drilled in the time 



PATTERNS WHICH SAVE MACHINING 



101 



it takes to back face one bolt hole. Hence the import- 
ance of keeping nuts well away from the walls of the 
casting, especially if there is any consid- 
erable fillet in the corner or if the bolt 
circle is not concentric with the wall. 

The designer can cause a great deal 
of confusion in the shop by giving 
names to pieces which do not fit. A 
simple rule for naming pieces is to call 
them by the two parts they connect. 
For instance, a lever link pin would ^', ~ , earan< f 

' r Distance ior Nuts 

be the pin that connects the lever and a 

link together. With this style of naming, any one can 

pick out the piece that is being talked about. 




o^ 



ARTICLE IX 
SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY 

Methods of Making Mixtures and Managing 
Cupolas that will Bring about Material Reduc- 
tions in Cost and Increases in Output 

THERE is a great saving in making the iron mix- 
ture of a foundry according to analysis. A well 
managed foundry's labor cost may run some- 
where around l 1 /^ cents per pound of castings turned 
out. All the material bought by this foundry may run 
a little over 1 cent for each pound of castings. A saving 
in the cost of material by using two-thirds or more of 
off-grade iron or scrap will reduce the cost of the cast- 
ings as much as increasing the foundry output per man 
10 per cent. Yet this foundry will try to strain the out- 
put per man up 10 per cent, and pay no attention to 
the heavy expense of running a mixture half of which 
is costly pig iron. 

A foundry using a minimum amount of coke in the 
cupola, so that the increase in sulphur from melting is 
only nominal, will be forced to use two-thirds cheap pig 
iron or scrap. To obtain a mixture in the casting of 

1.80 silicon, 

. 80 manganese, 

. 60 phosphorus, and 

. 10 sulphur, 

more than two-thirds off-grade iron will have to be used. 
The above analysis will make a fine iron, close-grained, 
strong and soft. 



104 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

A foundry that had never mixed by analysis used 
about 40 to 50 per cent, scrap in the mixture. This foun- 
dry after it changed over to mixing by analysis ran four 
months averaging 74% per cent, scrap, or off -grade 
iron, at scrap-iron prices in the mixture. Three weeks 
of this time the mixture was 80 per cent, off-grade iron, 
three weeks 77 per cent, off-grade iron, three weeks 73 
per cent, off-grade iron, and three weeks 69 per cent, off- 
grade iron. 

The analysis of the iron ranged through this time : 

Silicon 1.61 to 1.99, 
Manganese . 69 to 1 . 24, 
Phosphorus . 32 to . 68, 
Sulphur, 0.050 to 0.118. 

with the average, 

Silicon 1 . 82, 
Manganese . 90, 
Phosphorus . 55, 
Sulphur 0.094. 

It is strange that all foundries do not make their mix- 
tures by analysis. The essentials of the subject can be 
mastered in an hour's time. The condensed statement of 
iron mixing can be completely told in a comparatively 
few words. 

Permutations of the Five Metalloids 

There are only five elements that affect the mixture: 
Three of these change during melting ; the other two do 
not. Silicon and manganese reduce in amount and sul- 
phur increases. It is a game played with a pack of five 
cards and it is a question of what combination can be 
made with five elements. 

When an element is present in an iron above the nor- 
mal amount, it changes the quality of the iron in a fixed 
direction, provided the other elements are at the normal 
point. 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY 1Q5 

Silicon high, other elements in casting average: Soft, 
fluid, spongy, weak. When in excess of 3.50 iron begins 
to harden. 

Silicon low, other elements average: Hard, strong. 
Less internal sponginess. 

Manganese high, other elements average: Soft, 
strong, clean, close-grained. Manganese is a scrap car- 
rier. When very high, manganese begins to harden 
iron. 

Manganese low, other elements average: Hard, 
weak, brittle castings. 

Total carbon high, other elements average : The mix- 
ture can carry a lower silicon with good results. 

Total carbon low, other elements average: Strong 
iron. Increases the length of shrinkage. 

Graphitic carbon high, other elements average: Soft, 
weak with internal sponginess. 

Graphitic carbon low, other elements average : 
Strong, hard, no sponginess. 

Combined carbon high, other elements average: 
Strong, hard, not spongy. 

Combined carbon low, other elements average : Soft, 
weak and spongy. 

Phosphorus high, other elements average: Fluid, 
weak and brittle. Pit holes on machined face if very 
high. 

Phosphorus low, other elements average: Strong 
castings ; molten iron sluggish in flowing. 

Sulphur high, other elements average: Strong and 
hard, and sluggish in flowing. 

Sulphur low, other elements average: Soft, but weak. 

The proportion of the graphitic carbon to the com- 
bined carbon is purely a result of the proportion of the 
other elements, also the mold conditions. 



106 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Silicon and manganese high, other elements average, 
in a mixture with silicon 3 per cent, and manganese 1 to 
1.50 per cent. The silicon softens and weakens. The 
manganese offsets this and strengthens. 

Silicon and manganese low, the other elements aver- 
age: Hard, weak, brittle. 

Phosphorus and sulphur high, other elements aver- 
age: Weak, brittle castings. 

Phosphorus and sulphur low, other elements average : 
Strong and soft. 

Phosphorus high, manganese low, other elements 
average : Hard and weak. 

Silicon 

Silicon. 

Malleable iron 0.60 to 1 .00 

Car wheels 0.60 to 0.80 

Cylinders 1.25 to 1.75 

Machine castings, heavy 1 . 75 to 2 . 25 

Machine castings, light 2 . 25 to 2 . 75 

Ornamental castings 2 . 40 to 2 . 75 

Stove plate 2.50 to 3.00 

On heavy work 1.60 silicon will be less spongy than 
1.90 silicon. 

For heavy pressure oil cylinders (hydraulic pressure) 
bring the silicon down to 1 per cent, to make a dense 
iron. 

Five per cent, of the silicon burns out in melting in 
the average cupola. This has to be figured when making 
a cupola mixture. 

Castings made 40 or 50 years ago, such as cast-iron 
building fronts, contain a higher percentage of silicon 
than the present day No. 1 iron. Such old iron is 
snapped up by the foundries that know this. It means 
getting No. 1 iron at scrap iron prices. 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY 107 

Manganese 

Of all the elements this is the most desirable. It has 
no bad qualities and all the good qualities. 

Manganese. 

Malleable iron 0.25 to 0.35 

Car wheel iron 0.45 to 0.60 

Cylinders 0.60 to 0.90 

Machine castings, heavy . 30 to . 50 

Machine castings, light . 30 to . 50 

Ornamental 0.35 to 0.50 

Stove plate 0.35 to 0.50 

Manganese cleans, softens, closes the grain and off- 
sets sulphur effects. High manganese removes sulphur. 
Often the sulphur does not increase in melting more 
than 0.002, if the manganese is 0.90 in the casting. This 
shows how manganese removes sulphur. 

High manganese with high sulphur will make a softer 
mixture than low manganese with low sulphur. This 
shows the power of manganese as a softener. 

Manganese is a better softener than silicon, as it does 
not weaken the iron nor make it spongy. It is cheaper, 
as high manganese iron is sold at about standard price, 
whereas high silicon iron is sold at a premium. 

For average work 0.80 per cent, manganese is prob- 
ably the ideal point. As the manganese is increased 
from a low point up to. 0.60, its softening effect is felt 
very strongly. Above 0.60 the effect is felt less and less 
as manganese is increased, until somewhere about 1 per 
cent, any increase fails to soften the iron. 

Castings will be hard if the manganese runs as high or 
higher than the silicon. This rarely occurs as such an 
analysis is unusual. 

Makers of automobile cylinders carry 1 per cent, 
manganese in the iron to keep the mixture soft and the 
silicon low, to prevent sponginess in the unequal sections 
of the casting. 



108 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

From 7% to 20 per cent, of the manganese that is in 
the mixture charged into the cupola will be burned out 
in melting, depending on the cupola. In making up a 
mixture, allowance must be made for this. 

A good way to raise the manganese is to buy mangan- 
ese scrap and use it in the cupola. 

Carbon Content 

Total Carbon. 

Machinery castings 3 . 50 per cent, and over 

Ornamental 3 . 50 per cent, and over 

Car wheel 3 . 50 per cent, and over 

Cylinders 3 . 35 to 3 . 50 per cent. 

Stove plate 3 . 30 per cent, and over 

Malleable 2.00 to 2.25 per cent. 

High total carbon makes a more spongy iron than 
low, other elements being average in amount. The high- 
er the total carbon the softer the iron. Total carbon 3.75 
per cent, and 1.50 silicon give a softer iron than 3.25 
total carbon and 2.50 silicon. This shows the softening 
power of carbon. Low total carbon will produce exces- 
sive shortening of a casting and may crack it. 

Northern and Southern irons differ principally in 
their total carbon and phosphorus. Northern iron has 
high total carbon and low phosphorus. Southern iron 
is low in total carbon and high in phosphorus. 

Castings that cool quickly, either from being thin sec- 
tion, or from having a chill set in the mold, or from being 
poured with cold iron will be higher in combined carbon 
than those which cool slowly. This is the reason that a 
mixture that gives 0.50 combined carbon in castings 1/2 
inch thick will give 0.10 and 0.05 combined carbon in 
casting 1% inches thick. A mixture with 2 per cent, 
silicon in heavy work, and combined carbon 0.05 or 0.10 
will change, by lowering the silicon to 1.50, to 0.50 com- 
bined carbon. Any sponginess found in castings made 
of the first mixture would disappear by using the second 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY 109 

mixture. This shows that the proportion of combined 
carbon to graphitic carbon is a result of the proportions 
of the other elements. 

A foundry troubled with internal sponginess will be 
obliged to use an iron mixture as near the hard point 
as the machine shop can stand. The silicon may have to 
be reduced to 1.50 per cent. 

A cupola burns out the same fixed per cent, of silicon 
and manganese and adds the same fixed per cent, of sul- 
phur to the iron day by day. 

The mixture in the casting can be guaranteed except 
as to the carbons, knowing the analysis of the iron 
charged into the cupola, when the amount of change the 
Dupola makes in the elements is learned from observation. 

Phosphorus 

From 0.8 to 1 per cent, phosphorus is desirable for 
fluidity in light castings. 

High phosphorus weakens iron to a marked degree, 
especially if the manganese is low. 

High phosphorus in medium and heavy castings often 
causes dirt. 

Increase of phosphorus from a low point up to 0.6 
per cent, makes a rapid increase in the fluidity, but not 
so rapid a change in weakness in the iron. 

From 0.6 per cent, up the fluidity change is not so 
rapid as the change in weakness. For average work 0.6 
per cent, is probably the most desirable point. This 
might be raised to 0.7 if the iron has to be carried a long 
distance or the cupola is liable to run a little cold. The 
loss of strength will only be slight and the increase in 
fluidity may save many castings. Carrying the phos- 
phorus a little above normal will make the iron fluid and 
offset the sluggishness caused by high sulphur. High 
manganese being a strengthener will offset the weaken- 
ing effect of the phosphorus. 



HO SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Sulphur 

The sulphur increase in melting iron comes from the 
sulphur in the coke. 

A cupola running cold increases the sulphur more 
than a cupola running hot. 

Of the sulphur in the coke 6 per cent, passes into the 
molten iron. This must be figured in making a mixture. 

The sulphur in castings can be as high as 0.13 without 
any bad effect, provided the manganese is kept high 
enough to offset the sulphur effects. This is a valuable 
thing to know, as it opens up a field for melting off- 
grades of iron and scrap that will reduce the cost of the 
mixture. 

High sulphur reduces sponginess in the heavy sec- 
tions of castings. It produces sluggishness in running, 
which must be offset by increasing the phosphorus. The 
weakening effect from the increase of phosphorus will 
more than be offset by the strengthening properties of 
high sulphur. 

Scrap Iron and Scrap Steel 

A mixture of 66 per cent, scrap can be safely run con- 
tinuously. I know of a hollow ware foundry that runs 
75 per cent, scrap, also a pumping machinery firm that 
ran 75 per cent, scrap. These are two extremes on the 
casting line. 

In certain markets it is cheaper to buy off grades of 
pig iron than scrap. A very high proportion of this pig 
iron can be used. 

Analysis of average scrap cast iron: 

Silicon , ■_■■■■ 2.00 

Manganese . 35 

Phosphorus I . 70 

Sulphur : . 10 

Total carbon 3 . 50 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY m 

We will call the above an average mixture in a cast- 
ing. Average analysis of scrap steel: 

Silicon None 

Manganese . 50 

Phosphorus . 08 

Sulphur 0.08 

Total carbon . 50 

Steel scrap is very useful in a mixture to reduce the 
silicon. Suppose you wish to run a mixture of two- 
thirds scrap and the iron in the casting comes out 2.10 in 
silicon and this makes a mixture that is too spongy and 
weak ; add steel scrap to the mixture to bring the silicon 
down to 1.90, where you want it. 

If a foundry can get the low silicon cheaper by buying 
off-grade iron instead of using steel, it is better to buy 
the off-grade iron. 

Changes That Occur in the Cupola 

Of the silicon, 5 per cent, in the mixture burns out. 

Of the manganese, 7% to 20 per cent, burns out. 

Of the sulphur in the coke, 6 per cent, is added to the 
mixture. 

Suppose the silicon in the mixture in the cupola aver- 
ages 2 per cent. Five per cent, of 2 is 0.10; 2 less 0.10 
equals 1.90 per cent. The analysis of the castings would 
show 1.90 per cent silicon. 

Suppose observation shows that the cupola burns out 
20 per cent of the manganese, and suppose the iron 
charged in has an analysis of 0.75 per cent, manganese. 
Twenty per cent, of 0.75 is 0.15; 0.75 per cent, less 0.15 
per cent, equals 0.60 per cent. The manganese in the 
castings will be 0.60 per cent. 

If your coke has 0.75 sulphur in it, 6 per cent, of this 
would be 0.045. Now, if the iron that is put into the 
cupola, taking pig iron, scrap and all, averages 0.055 per 



H2 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

cent, sulphur, 0.055 plus 0.045 gives 0.10. The mixture 
will have 0.10 per cent, sulphur. 

Coke 

Coke must be hard and in large lumps. If it is soft it 
will crush in the cupola and shut off the free passage of 
air and produce cold iron, and cold iron produces bad 
castings. 

The higher the ash in coke the harder and the better ; 
8 to 12 per cent, ash is the best. Coke having lower ash, 
say, 5 to 8 per cent., is too weak to hold its burden. 

Good coke runs 0.85 per cent, sulphur and under; the 
lower the better. 

Taking Samples for Analysis 

Casting Analysis. — Take eight gates from different 
parts of the heat. Drill them being careful to throw 
away the first chips that might have sand in them. Mix 
the chips from the eight gates to get a true sample. Put 
them into an envelope and send to a thoroughly reliable 
chemist. Better choose one whose principal business is 
cloing this work for foundries, as the slightest error 
made by the chemist will lead to trouble. 

Foreign Scrap Analysis. — Take chips from ten sam- 
ples. 

Coke Analysis. — Take chips from twenty pieces. 

Here is the analysis of the castings of a firm which 
mixed satisfactorily by the old method of not using an- 
alysis. Its product was light castings : 

Silicon 1-730 

Manganese : 0.660 

Graphite carbon 1 2 . 900 

Combined carbon • . 490 

Phosphorus 0.944 

Sulphur ' 0.058 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY H3 

They had no idea the sulphur was so low. They might 
just as well have used a cheap off -grade iron high 
in sulphur which would have raised the sulphur up to 
0.10 or even 0.12 per cent. 

Such an increase in the sulphur would necessitate the 
increasing of the silicon probably to 2 or 2.25 per cent., 
depending on how light the castings were, so as to offset 
the hardening effects of the higher sulphur. This change 
in the mixture would have reduced the cost of castings. 

In starting up a cupola, light fire after two-thirds of 
the bed coke is charged. Light at tuyeres, not at tap 
hole or the bed will burn irregularly. After lighting, 
charge in the other third coke. 

Begin charging the cupola as soon as the coke is thor- 
oughly red hot. 

Have the cupola fully charged 30 minutes before the 
blast goes on — not sooner and not later. In this way the 
full benefit is derived from the heat of the fuel. 

Remember, the hottest place is next to the wall of the 
cupola ; therefore, put the coke and pig iron there only. 

Tap out when the blast has been on 30 minutes. 

Never let the taphole blow, as it allows slag to run into 
the ladle, and slag will finally get into the castings. Al- 
ways carry a large body of melted iron in cupola. The 
tapped iron then will come from the bottom of the molt- 
en mass where it is absolutely clean. 

Be sure the ladle is heated before the first tap. Make 
the taphole % inch in diameter. The small taphole 
makes it easy to handle the iron under pressure in the 
cupola. 

Close taphole with molding sand before blast goes on. 
This will preserve the bed coke and also will save some 
iron that is usually wasted. 

Slag out after 50 minutes or after 7000 pounds on 
heats 12,000 pounds or over. Slagging will prevent the 



114 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

cupola closing up, thereby giving hot iron at the end of 
large heats. 

Metal and Fuel Charges 

Make the first charge of iron double the weight of 
those that are to follow. The coke in the bed is sufficient 
to melt it. Reduce the coke charges day after day until 
cold iron begins to result ; then increase them a little. 

Use steel scrap on first charge and pour the heavy 
castings with this iron. Steel is necessary in heavy cast- 
ings to make them solid, because the silicon must be 
brought down low. All shop steel scrap melted in the 
cupola is clear gain for the foundry — material for noth- 
ing. 

If you wish to melt cast-iron borings put 100 pounds 
in a sack and charge in the center of the cupola under 
the scrap — borings on the coke, scrap on top of the bor- 
ings. Start in with 5 per cent, borings and gradually in- 
crease this day by day until 10 per cent, is reached. This 
material is no expense to the foundry and is clear gain. 

Charge the coke, if it is good, to 24 inches above top 
of tuyeres. 

One pound of coke in bed should melt 3 pounds of 
iron. 

Use the least amount of coke possible. Excessive coke 
produces slow melting, raises the sulphur in the castings, 
and increases the material expense of running a foun- 
dry. 

Coke that looks like the inside of a wasp's nest is not 
good. It makes slag. 

Flux is not generally needed. Limestone is better 
than fluorspar. Fluorspar makes the flux so thin that it 
will flow with the iron and get into the mold. Use 30 
pounds of limestone to 1200 pounds of iron. 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY H5 

Causes of Cold Iron 

Cold iron raises the sulphur in castings. 

Cold iron produces blow holes in machined faces. 

Cold iron makes shrink holes under the risers. 

Cold iron from cupola is caused by : 
Bed coke pieces being too small. 
Wood in bed not dry. 
Wood in bed longer than 2 feet. 
Wood in bed not level. 
Coke in bed and in charges not level. 

Coke in charges when not put around the edge, but in 
the center, will make cold iron. Fork the coke in; do 
not pour it in. 

Pig iron must be charged around the edge where the 
blast hits it, or cold iron will result. 

Cold iron is produced from wet sand put in the cupola 
bottom. 

Cold iron is produced when scrap is used in too large 
pieces. This cuts off the draft in the cupola. 

Cold iron is produced by not charging scrap in the 
center of the cupola. 

Cold iron is made by not charging the iron level. 

Cold iron will result if the ladle is not heated before 
the first tap. 

Cold iron is produced if coke is lit too early. 

Cold iron is produced if iron begins to melt before 
blast goes on. 

Distribute the shot iron throughout the charge evenly ; 
not all in one charge or it will act as a damper and pro- 
duce cold iron. 

Hot Iron 

Hot iron feeds the casting better giving less spongi- 
ness in casting. 

Hot iron makes the casting solid under risers. 



116 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Hot iron makes clean castings. 

Hot iron makes soft casting and castings free from 
blow holes. 

Hot iron reduces sulphur. 

Dry bottom sand gives clean, hot iron. 

Two-foot pieces of wood or shorter give hot iron. 

Dry wood leveled gives hot iron. 

Use large coke in bed. A level bed gives hot iron. 

Use small pieces of iron. If pigs are broken, espe- 
cially for first charge, it will make hotter iron and reduce 
the coke. 

Scrap in the center gives hot iron. 

Scrap not too large gives hot iron. 

General Directions 

At the end of the heat the iron that is left over should 
be poured into a clean cast-iron pig bed, rather than on 
the floor. This will save the labor of breaking up the 
slab iron, put it into better melting form and keep it 
clean. 

Remember, most of the dirt that is thrown into the 
cupola comes out of the tap hole, and some of it goes into 
the castings. 

Be sure to oil the surface of the cast-iron pig chill to 
prevent the flying of iron. 

Blast pressure should be 8 to 14 ounces. . 

Clay only % inch thick on the wall of the cupola gives 
clean iron. 

Stiff, dry clay for daubing gives clean iron. 

Be sure to skim slag from ladles before starting to 
pour. 

Make slag hole 2 inches in diameter, 1% inches in 
length. 

Put slag hole 2 inches lower than lowest tuyere. 



SOME ECONOMIES IN THE FOUNDRY H? 

Take out everything not used each day from the cu- 
pola top room. The day's heat can then be stored up- 
stairs in wagons. 

Line the cupola with standard firebrick inserting a 
wedge brick between every second or third brick to form 
the curve. A tighter fit and a more durable lining may 
be made thus than with expensive curved bricks. A close 
fit is of the utmost importance. Cracks between bricks 
on the inside of the cupola occasion a rapid burning 
away of the lining, and if the bricks stand apart at the 
back they become loose as soon as the lining burns thin. 
Lay up the melting zone in two walls, an inner and 
outer. The inside wall can be easily repaired and buring 
through to the steel shell is prevented. Bricks will be 
completely consumed before new ones are required, 
which is an economy. High manganese burns out the 
lining faster than low, but its advantage far offsets this 
trouble and expense. 

Analysis and Expert Advice 

Reputable firms of analytical chemists make a busi- 
ness of taking care of foundries. They make contracts 
by the year for analyzing samples from heats, coke, pig 
iron, scrap iron, or anything else, and give advice as to 
the best iron mixtures, for a fixed yearly sum. Besides 
this, they send their field man, free of charge, to teach 
the cupola tender the best way to run the cupola and the 
correct sizes of charges of coke and iron, etc. The field 
men are old practical foundrymen who have come up 
from the ranks. Troubles can be unloaded on them to 
be corrected. The price they charge is only nominal. 
The savings they effect will pay for their services ten 
times over. 



ARTICLE X 
LOSS AND SAVING OF CASTINGS 

What the Foundry Superintendent Needs to 
Observe in Handling Molten Metal — Defects 
Frequently Found in Castings and Their Causes 

THERE are 37 different ways of losing a casting : 
1. Cold iron. 
2. Dirt in the molten iron that fails to come to 
the surface. 

3. Poorly skimmed iron. 

4. Iron too hard. 

5. Gas in the iron. 

6. Mold too wet. 

7. Cores not perfectly dry. 

8. Mold rammed too hard all over or too hard in a 
spot. 

9. Core rammed too hard. 

10. Mold rammed too soft. 

11. Mold not properly vented. 

12. Cores not properly vented. 

13. Tearing up of the mold in drawing the pattern 
and not patching the sand back properly. 

14. Runout from a bad fit of the cores in the prints. 

15. Runout from iron passing through a vent in the 
cores. 

16. Runout from a strain through the solid sand of a 
mold. 

17. Runout from poorly made parting. 

18. Crush from a poorly made parting. 



120 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

19. Crush from crooked setting of the cores. 

20. Crush from poor fit of cores in prints. 

21. Shift caused by flask pins being loose. 

22. Drop out because too few bars or sand hooks were 
used. 

23. Drop out because flask was weak or loose at the 
corners or at the bars. 

24. Drop out because sand was too weak or too dry. 

25. Drop out from something striking the top of the 
j agger after the mold was closed. 

26. Dirt in the pouring basin, gate or mold or loose 
dirt around the tops of the risers. 

27. Cores not wired or rodded strongly enough. 

28. The raising of a core from not anchoring it prop- 
erly. 

29. From the casting cracking because it was gated 
wrong or from wrong iron mixture or bad design. 

30. From internal shrinkage caused by improper 
molding or by wrong iron mixture or by cold iron or by 
bad design. 

31. Failure to run or cold shut from bad iron mixture, 
too cold iron, too hard ramming, too thin a design or bad 
gating. 

32. Scabbing of mold. 

33. Cutting of mold. 

34. Scabbing of core. 

35. Restricted passage of gas after it leaves the core. 

36. Dirt from the washing of core blacking. 

37. Dirt from the washing of mold blacking. 

An experienced foundryman can tell why a casting 
was lost by examining the bad spots. The flaw in the 
casting speaks plainly to him. 

Gas Bubbles in Castings 

Gas bubbles in castings come from three sources. 
They come from the mold or cores ; from the iron having 



LOSS AND SAVING OF CASTINGS 121 

been poured too cold; or from a gas that is in the molten 
metal itself. 

The first trouble can be avoided by care in making the 
mold and cores; the second by following exactly the 
rules for running the cupola and by handling the iron 
rapidly after it is in the ladle. A remedy that will com- 
pletely eliminate the gas that is in the molten iron has 
not yet been discovered. This gas is not always present. 
It will appear in some heats and in others will not be in 
the least apparent. This gas always shows up in the 
shape of small, deep, penetrating, worm-like holes right 
around the place where the pouring gate enters the cast- 
ing ; never anywhere else. It will only show on the first 
castings poured with each ladle of iron. The gas seems 
to pass out of the iron after it stands in the ladle. 

This gas can be partly eliminated by running the iron 
through long gate grooves around the parting before it 
enters the casting. Most of the worm-like holes will 
then come in this long gate. 

Another way is to place beside the piece that requires 
very particular care a small pattern of something about 
which one is not particular — a pattern for a foundry 
clamp, for instance, or a cast-iron wedge pattern. Gate 
all the metal through the unimportant casting. Most of 
the gas bubbles will be in the clamp or wedge and very 
little in the particular casting. 

Another way some foundrymen eliminate the trouble 
is to let the ladle of iron stand until the gas has escaped. 
This is not a good method ; the last castings poured with 
the ladle are liable to turn out bad from cold iron. 

Gas from the mold or cores shows in the shape of a 
violent kicking of the iron out of the risers while pour- 
ing. It shows in the casting in the shape of a hollow 
spot that is sometimes at a distance from the seat of 
trouble. Break up the casting carefully and trace the 



122 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

hollow spot piece by piece down to its lowest point. It 
will generally lead to a spot on the core or the mold that 
was improperly vented. 

Sometimes a runout will cause a hole in a casting that 
can easily be mistaken for a gas kick. The difference can 
generally be told by the appearance of the inside surface 
of the flaw. The flaw from gas will be smooth. The 
flaw from a runout will show a granular surface with 
tiny points throughout the shiny interior of the hole. 

If the trouble from gas continues, make a mold and 
cut out all the sand from the center of the cope so that 
the inside of the mold with its cores, can be seen. Pour 
the mold and the point that is giving the trouble will be 
quickly discovered. 

Hard ramming will cause a violent boiling of the iron 
and will give a casting a streaked, wrinkled surface 
where the iron could not lie quietly against the hard 
sand. Wet sand will have the same effect. 

Cold Iron 

More castings are thrown out on account of having 
been poured with too cold iron than from any other 
source. 

For a brief period in any mold, no matter how softly 
rammed or well vented or dried, there is a violent pas- 
sage of gas from the sand into the iron. If the iron is 
cold and solidifies while this is still going on, the ma- 
chined faces will be covered with little pit holes or 
smooth bubble-like hollows. The best way for a foundry 
superintendent to convince himself, the foundry fore- 
man, the molder and especially the cupola tender of this 
is to take a casting that has been poured cold, have it 
machined early the next morning and bring it back into 
the foundry as an exhibition. Do this early before any- 
one has forgotten the cold iron that the casting was 
poured with. 



LOSS AND SAVING OF CASTINGS 123 

Iron must come from the cupola dazzling white hot 
and must be hurried to the molds and poured quickly. 
Too much iron in the ladle will cause the last molds to 
be poured cold. Come back to the cupola often. Pour 
the left over iron into pig beds and not back into the 
tapping ladle. Have the phosphorus in the mixture 
high enough to keep the iron fluid. 

Internal Shrinkage and Sponginess 

Internal shrinkage shows in the heaviest part of a 
casting in the shape of a hole or a spongy place and can 
often be corrected by turning the pattern over so that 
the shrinky spot comes in the drag and not in the cope. 
Sponginess is rarely found in the lowest part of a cast- 
ing. It can be corrected by putting a chill on the mold 
at the spongy place or by changing the proportions of 
the pattern so that all the metal is of the same thickness. 

Sponginess very often shows in the bottom of a pocket 
or angle of a casting, caused by a disturbance of the iron 
from gas. Venting down into these corners or changing 
the design so that the angle comes on the inside of the 
casting instead of the outside will correct the evil. A 
pocket on the inside of a casting rarely shows sponginess. 

A change in the location of the gate and risers will 
often eliminate shrinkage. 

Putting on higher or longer risers will do away with 
sponginess by increasing the pressure in the mold. 

Venting down into corners that show leakage will 
often correct this evil, as any gas disturbance of the iron 
in the mold will make a porous spot in the casting at the 
point of disturbance. 

Plates of unequal section are likely to crack. The 
trouble can be remedied by using a stronger mixture of 
iron or by using one with a higher total carbon or by 
changing the location of the gate so that the point that 



124 



SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 



cracks will be the first to cool and not the last or by- 
changing the design of the plate to one of equal section 
all over. 

Gating and Pouring 

Make a pouring pocket at the top of the gate into 
which the iron is poured. It will catch the first splash of 
iron and keep it from going down the gate. 

Make a pocket at the bottom end of the gate to catch 
the first drops of iron and keep them from splashing into 
the mold. These first drops of iron chill in the mold and 
make bad spots in the machined faces on castings. 

Soften up the gate at the 



pouring bowl also at the 
parting with a lifter before 
slicking these places down. 
This will prevent the boiling 
of the iron, which creates 
dirt. 

When pouring be sure to 
keep the gate choked full of 
iron to prevent the slag 
getting into the casting. 
Make a skim gate, using a pattern and a core in the 
manner shown in Fig. 20. Its advantages are: 1. The 
sand is soft in the drag. 2. The core acts as a perfect 
skimmer. 3. Using a pattern instead of cutting by hand 
makes a clean gate. 

A rod for churning should extend into the casting. 
A hot poured casting will be softer than a cold poured 
one of the same analysis for the sand, being heated to a 
higher degree, will anneal the casting. 

Dirt in Castings 

Dirt in castings can be caused from sand left in the 
mold before closing; dirt in the pouring basin at the 










Core—' 













Fig. 20 — Slag Skimming Gate 
for Molda 



LOSS AND SAVING OF CASTINGS 125 

top of the gate ; loose dirt that has fallen in from the top 
of risers because the molder is careless about leaving 
the sands ragged at this point. 

Dirt may come from a cutting action of the iron in the 
mold or from a scab on the core or mold or from a crush 
on the mold. It can come from the blacking washing. 

When a casting shows up dirty examine the spot. A 
fine black powder is blacking. 

Whether a casting was lost from a piece of broken 
core or a piece of the mold can be easily told if limestone 
is present in the core sand. The molding sand will be 
black, whereas the core sand will have white particles in 
it. A careful examination of the casting will show the 
spot from which the sand came. If it is at the gate the 
sand was washed away by the rush of iron into the mold, 
which can be prevented by driving nails over the inside 
of the mold at this point or by changing the gate. 

Washing on heavy castings is frequently caused by 
using a grade of sand that is suitable for light work only. 
If the trouble is from a scab on the core it shows that in 
making the core the sand became loosened and never was 
pressed back again before drying. 

Sometimes the slicking of a wet blacked core with the 
tool, if not properly done — that is, if the core-maker lets 
his tool lie too flat against the face while slicking — will 
loosen the core sand. 

If the trouble is from a crush at the parting the mold- 
er failed to depress the parting properly by slicking. 

A scab on other parts of a casting is caused by the 
sand buckling out into the casting. The molder rammed 
too close to the pattern in the spot where the scab oc- 
curred. 

A poor grade of blacking may wash and make dirty 
castings. 



12Q SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Adulterated blacking is all right if you do your own 
adulterating. Buy the finest grade of plumbago at 5 
cents per pound and mix it with as much talc, at 1 cent 
per pound, as will work satisfactorily. Thirty-five per 
cent, talc and 65 per cent, plumbago for a wet blacking 
mixture will peel the sand off the heavy castings. Half 
and half will be all right for the average blacking. Pure 
talc, with no plumbago, will be found perfectly satisfac- 
tory for dry blacking thin plate work. 

Blacking often washes because not enough molasses 
was used to bind it. It washes if put on too thick or if 
burned in drying. 

Put stone coal in the sand pile and mold blacking can 
be eliminated on certain classes of work. 



ARTICLE XI 
METHODS WHICH SAVE IN MOLDING 

The Part Played by the Different Classes of 
Machines in the Foundry System with Direc- 
tions for Operating Them Economically 

MAKING a mold involves a great many small 
simple operations which have to be carefully 
done. The least neglect or lack of skill in do- 
ing any one of these many small operations means the 
loss of the casting. Molding is usually done by having 
one man carry the mold through all its steps from the 
start to finish. This requires a high-class, physically 
powerful man who has served a long time at the trade. 

Each step in making a mold is simple and easily 
learned. Therefore, the tendency of the times is to have 
one man do one or two of the operations of mold making 
only and pass the mold on to others to do the following 
operations. 

The jar ram molding machine fits into this system ad- 
mirably. Under this system each man becomes more 
expert at his one or two simple operations of mold mak- 
ing than the best skilled mechanic. He saves time by 
keeping all his appliances for this one task right with 
him. His wage rate is lower than the rate of a fully 
skilled molder, because he is not paid for a complete 
knowledge of molding. Each of these men turns out 
more work than a molder would, because any slowing up 
makes the work accumulate. Each has to do his part of 
the molding as fast as the molds come to him, so as to get 
them off his hands and to the next man. 



128 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

All these points in the system reduce the cost of cast- 
ings materially below that of the old way. One foun- 
dryman in Cincinnati put it this way: "Nine-tenths of 
the steps in producing a mold are plain operations that 
a laborer can do. Our aim is to make laborers do all 
these and use the skilled man on the skilled tenth of the 
work only." 

The system is worked out as follows : One man, or a 
small gang of men, temper sand all day ; a second gang 
fill the flasks, jar them and deliver them to the finishing 
gang, who draw the patterns, tool the molds, if this is 
necessary, and black them. The next man or men dry 
them. Most of the molds are left open until the last 
thing in the evening and then all hands jump in and 
place the cores, close the molds and clamp them. 

The gangs are kept down to as few men as possible. 
At blast time there is always a mold left open, not cored, 
another rammed with the pattern still in it. These molds 
are ready to start on the next day. The gang starts right 
in at whistle time turning out molds. 

All the sand in the foundry is kept at the jarring ma- 
chine. All the molds are taken to this point by the crane 
to be shaken out. The shaking out goes on all day, 
whenever the laborers get spare time. Each flask is 
placed on the follow board the instant it is shaken out. 
This saves extra handling. 

The system of shaking out and cutting the sand as it 
is needed saves the expense of a night gang. It reduces 
the day labor gang to the minimum; uses the crane 
evenly all day and cuts out waiting on the part of the 
molders for the crane. 

A mold that cost $3 to make by the old system of one 
man molding will be reduced to about $1.90 by the gang 
system using a jar ramming machine. This system is 



METHODS WHICH SAVE IN MOLDING 129 

adaptable only to molds larger than 24 x 24 inches inside 
measurements. 

Unit Output for Different Kinds of Molding 

A foundry having intricate core work on about half 
the tonnage will find the output of castings per man 
connected with molding running about as follows : 

400 lb. per man at old style floor work system. 
550 lb. per man at bench work. 
625 lb. to 830 lb. for small molding machine work. 
650 lb. for gang system at jar ramming floor work. 

These figures will run higher for foundries making 
less difficult work. The relation of pounds output per 
man on the different kinds of molding will stay about 
the same. The small molding machine will hold the rec- 
ord and the jar ram floor work will follow next. 

A foundry using the gang system of molding will ar- 
rive at such a point of independence that the loss of the 
best molder in the shop is not felt very much. It is gen- 
erally harder to replace the exceptionally good helper 
who has adjusted himself to the methods of the shop, 
knows where everything is kept, knows all the sizes of 
the flasks, brings out the cores and places them beside the 
molds, and fits himself into all the chinks of the foundry, 
than it is to replace a molder. 

The Scope of Different Molding Methods 

On all molds up to, say 14 x 16 inches inside measure- 
ment of flask, the squeezer molding machine will pro- 
duce faster than if the molds are made on the bench or 
by the jar ramming machine. 

On all molds 26 inches square and larger the plain jar 
ramming machine will produce faster than hand ram- 
ming. 

Molds between the squeezer size and the jar ramming 
machine size are not as yet made economically by the 



130 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

molding machine. There are machines on which the 
molds are hand rammed. The drags are deposited on 
the floor by the machine. There are others that jar ram 
the molds, but do not deposit the drags on the floor. 
This size of work will not be satisfactorily done until a 
machine is made that rams the mold by the jar ramming 
process, deposits the drag on the floor and moves along, 
or is moved along, to the next position. 

Any molding machine to be a success must be a very 
simple mechanism — the simpler the better. 

Molds 14 x 16 inches inside measurement of flask and 
smaller should be made on a hand-squeezer rollover-pat- 
tern drawing machine that handles both cope and drag at 
one squeeze and draws the mold down and not up from 
the pattern. The pattern must be above the sand when 
being drawn, otherwise the pattern making expense will 
be greatly increased; only a very perfect pattern will 
draw down from a ceiling of sand without pulling the 
sand with it. A job with a hanging body of sand cannot 
be made by lifting the sand up off the pattern. 

Using the Squeezer Molding Machine 

Copes 8% inches deep and drags 8 inches deep with 
the pattern extending 6 inches from parting, can be 
handled perfectly on the squeezer machine. The ram- 
ming will be done with the shovel handle on this deep 
work. Such a squeezer molding machine will hold the 
record tonnage output in a foundry. On small molding 
the greatest economy is made by reducing the motions 
that the man goes through in making a mold. This can 
be done on the machine that makes the cope and drag at 
the same time. The man picks up his shovel only once 
in making a complete mold. He fills the cope, drag and 
sieve with sand and rams the mold all at one handling of 
the shovel. He strikes off both the cope and the drag at 



METHODS WHICH SAVE IN MOLDING 131 

one sweep; puts on both bottom board and squeezer 
board at one movement; a movement clamps both cope 
and drag; they are both squeezed with a single motion, 
and the patterns are drawn with a return motion of the 
handle ; the mold is closed and carried out as a whole in a 
single trip. 

On this kind of work the pattern board has the sprue 
and riser post of brass mounted on it. On the squeezer 
board is a form that makes the pouring bowl on top of 
the mold so that this handwork is eliminated. 

It is best to adopt a layout for the gates and risers that 
will cover all cases and never vary from this. The best 
layout for the gates and risers is at each end on the cen- 
ter line, at each side on the center line, in each corner, 
two near the center cross ways, two in near center length- 
ways, and one exactly in the center. Nearly any combi- 
nation can be worked with a standard outfit of squeezer 
boards by using this layout. 

Economies With the Squeezer Molding Machine 

Place vents permanently at the parting on the pattern 
board to save cutting them in the mold by hand. A plain 
jobinal4xl6 inch mold can be made every 2 minutes 
using bands in the flask, and in less time if solid flasks 
are used. This is timing the man on a single hour's run. 
He will not be able to keep up this rate all day, but it 
shows how rapidly molds can be made on the small ma- 
chine. 

The output on the machine depends entirely on the 
strength of the man. A very powerful man can put up 
100 molds 14 x 16 inches between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 
a.m. He will have to be physically fit for the task — 
built on the lines of a heavy freight locomotive. It 
takes 19 minutes to change the boards, squeeze, etc., on 
such a machine. 



132 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Teach the man carefully to make no false moves; to 
peen with the shovel handle a certain number of strokes 
— no more or no less ; to lay his tools always in the same 
place, and to remove the sand with one sweep, not two, 
when striking off the mold. A green laborer the third 
day he works, if carefully taught, will make a 14 x 16 
inch mold at the rate of one every 3% minutes. 

Laborers should shake out the small machine molds as 
soon as they are poured, pile up the castings, throw 
water on the sand and next morning temper the sand for 
the machine man before he starts. If he is forced to cut 
his own sand he will not be able to put up a big day's 
work. Some firms even go so far as to have a different 
gang pour off the molds from those that make them. A 
man can then go the limit all day without having to face 
the tiring task of carrying and pouring half a ton of 
molten iron at the hour when he is already worn out 
from molding. 

In piecework foundries everything is in readiness for 
the molder to start in the morning, his sand is cut and 
the pattern is in his machine. 

The Case of the Jarring Machine 

Jar ramming is the only perfect way to ram molds 
larger than 24 x 24 inches. Any saving in time made by 
the jar machine on smaller molds is lost in the labor of 
placing the molds upon and taking them off the ma- 
chine. It is safe to assume that the ramming of molds 
larger than 24 x 24 inches consumes 20 to 50 per cent, of 
a molder' s time, depending on the style of the work. 
The jar ram machine, by abolishing hand ramming, will 
save 20 to 50 per cent, of the molding expense. An 
hour's ramming can be done in a minute ; the ramming is 
perfectly done. The even ramming eliminates scabs and 
swollen spots on the castings. 



METHODS WHICH SAVE IN MOLDING 13,3 

The molds come out very smooth, that is, no tiny par- 
ticles stick to the pattern as with hand ramming. There 
is a slight sliding of the sand on the surface of the pat- 
tern, or a slight give of the pattern that keeps all par- 
ticles free from any sticking tendency. The inside of a 
jar rammed mold is as smooth as velvet. The sand is al- 
ways hard and strong at the corner of the parting where 
the pattern meets the follow board. No filling in of 
sand at the parting after the mold is rolled over is neces- 
sary as with a hand-rammed mold. The sand is hardest 
next to the pattern and is softer back from the pattern 
so that venting is unnecessary. This saves time and 
saves marring the pattern with the vent wire. Preserv- 
ing a smooth surface on the pattern saves the time of 
tooling the surface of the mold. 

The j ar ramming machine must not only be served by 
the main foundry crane, but must have a quick handling 
boom crane of its own. The output of the machine is 
controlled by the speed at which molds can be put on and 
taken off. One minute is all the time that is required 
to ram a mold, so that one machine well equipped with 
mold-handling apparatus will ram all the molds for a 
large foundry. A pattern drawing attachment on the 
jar ramming machine rarely pays, as the slight time 
saved in drawing pattern is more than lost by the time 
wasted in changing the machine from one pattern to 
another. 

Working a Gang with the Jarring Machine 

Following is the time of making a mold on the jar- 
ring machine by the gang system working at the regular 
speed that is kept up all day. Foundrymen can com- 
pare this time to their own mold-making time and see 
how much saving the gang jarring system would give 
them: 



134 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Drag 30x36 In. Inside Measurement, 18 In. Deep. 

1 inin. — Putting the pattern and the drag on the follow board. 
1 M min. — Clamping the flask and follow board together. 

6% min. — Sifting sand around the pattern and shoveling in the sand. 

2 min. — Sifting sand on top of the pattern. 

2 min. — Shoveling the drag full of sand. 

1 min. — Putting the sand frame on and filling it with sand. 

}/2 min. — Crane placing drag on the jar ramming machine. 

3^ min. — Jar ramming. 
1 min. — Putting bottom board on. 

% /i min. — Clamping bottom board. 

3^ min. — Crane takes the drag to the molder to finish. 

% min. — Take off follow board. 
Note. — The time on all molds of a size will be about the same, no matter 
what the pattern be up to this point. This next item will vary with the style 
of the pattern although the time will be short with the gang system, as the 
men work rapidly. 
10 min. — Finishing the drag up to the point of blacking. 

3^ min. — Spray the drag with blacking. 
5 min. — Drying with an oil torch. 

Note. — Some foundries diminish this labor cost by drying the molds in 
ovens, instead of drying with a torch, which will pay if the foundry has the 
crane capacity, the room, and a handy oven arrangement. The molds should 
go in at one end of the oven and come out at the other. 

Cope 30x36 In., 6 In. Deep. 

1 min. — Put pattern and cope on follow board. 

3 3^ min. — Sifting sand upon the pattern, getting the gaggers and clay washing 

them. 

2 min. — Setting gaggers. 

2\i min. — Filling cope with sand. 

% min. — Putting on a sand frame 7 in. high and filling it with sand. 

J4 mhi- — Crane taking cope to the machine. 

}/2 min. — Ram cope. 

}/i min. — Take cope off machine. 

3^ min. — Take off sand frame and shovel off the extra sand from top. 
1 min. — Strike off cope. 

3^ min. — Crane taking cope off machine and turning it over. 
1 min. — Setting it down at mold finisher. 

}/2 min. — Take off follow board. 
Note. — The following time item varies according to the job. 
10 min. — Draw cope pattern and finish the mold. 

1 min. — Spray wet blacking on the mold. 
The rest of the mold making would run the same as ordinary molding 
when done at a rapid rate. 



METHODS WHICH SAVE IN MOLDING 135 

Wet Blacking of Molds 

There is great economy in the wet blacking of molds. 
This can be done in one-fifth the time required for dry 
blacking. The total length of time, including the dry- 
ing, will be less than that consumed in dry blacking with 
a camel's hair brush. Spray the blacking on with com- 
pressed air by an atomizer. 

If the drying is done with a hand torch, mix the black- 
ing thick and spray it on. Smooth the blacked mold 
with a camel's hair brush dipped in water. This will cut 
down the drying time. If the molds are oven dried use 
the blacking thin and no hand brushing will be needed. 

A casting made in a wet blacked mold will come out 
clean. A single light blow of a hammer will knock off 
the sand, thus saving labor in the cleaning room. Cast- 
ings free from sand reduce the machine shop time. 

A dried mold has a hard, clean surface for the iron to 
lie against. The blacking hardens and cements all the 
loose corners to the mold. 

Use the coal oil torch for drying. Make your own coil 
pipe for the torches when they wear out. One laborer 
will dry a great many molds in a day and will become 
very expert at itt 



ARTICLE XII 
PATTERNS FOR MOLDING MACHINES 

Placing Patterns on the Small Molding Ma- 
chine — The Sizes of Flasks and Other Important 
Details — Examples of Foundry Output 

IN putting patterns on the machine mount an accu- 
rately machined cast-iron frame for the drag and 
one for the cope. These frames must be backed with 
machined cast-iron plates. The drag frame has holes at 
the ends to receive the pins of the drag and the cope 
frame has pins in it for the holes in the cope. 

The patterns are mounted on wooden panels, a panel 
for the drag and one for the cope. These panels drop 
into the frames and are held in place by four small slid- 
ing plates or clamps in each frame. The clamps lock the 
panel boards down securely by screws. The boards are 
located or centered accurately in the frames by pins in 
the depressed metal backing which enter pin holes in the 
backs of the boards. 

The advantage of this system over mounting the pat- 
terns on boards or plates fitted with flask pins and pin 
holes is that it simplifies pattern work. The flasks need 
to be fitted to but one set of frames. Great care can be 
used in doing this. The system where each board has to 
to be matched perfectly with the flask pin and pin holes 
requires an amount of continued accurate work, which 
has forced its abandonment in many foundries. Many 
castings will show shift on account of doctored up pin 
holes in pattern boards made according to the old way. 



138 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Material and storage space are saved by the panel sys- 
tem. 

Split patterns are correctly located on the panel 
boards in the foundry as follows : 

Procedure to Get Matching of Patterns 

1. Make cope and drag boards to an exact size. 

2. Screw to the back of the cope board a hardwood 
drilling jig, being absolutely sure two edges of drill jig 
match two edges of the cope board. 

3. Drill the two dowel-pin plate holes, using bit on 
machine to drill square. 

4. Do same with drag board. 

5. Put brass dowel-pin holes in both boards. 

Note: The molding machine is equipped with a 
frame that has dowel pins in it to match these holes. 

6. Have cope and drag split patterns doweled to- 
gether accurately in the regular way. 

7. Place drag board into the molding machine frame. 

8. Lay those halves of the patterns with pins in them 
on the drag board, first drilling loose clearance holes in 
the board to clear the pattern pins. 

9. Ram up a drag. Ram very hard. 

10. Turn the drag over, lift off the drag board leav- 
ing patterns stuck in the drag. 

11. Set the cope half patterns upon the drag half pat- 
terns. Ram up the cope same as in regular molding and 
lift off the cope. 

12. Put glue on the parting faces of all patterns. 

13. Put the drag frame with its drag board, back 
upon the drag and clamp it tight against the patterns, 
making the pattern stick to the drag board. 

14. Do the same with the cope frame and cope board. 
Let them stand over night until the glue has set. 

15. Lift out and permanently brad or screw patterns 
into place. 



PATTERNS FOR MOLDING MACHINES 139 

Note : If the sand is cut away all over parting before 
glueing, a better contact is made. The whole operation 
is done in a few minutes. No measuring is required and 
the matching is perfect. 

It is a good plan to have a vertical plate set on a sur- 
face plate in the pattern shop upon which the cope and 
drag panels can be clamped, one on each side, to test the 
accuracy of the pattern placing and to lay out panels for 
the locating of any patterns that cannot be placed by 
the foundry process. This vertical plate has dowel pins 
on each side that locate the drag panel and the cope 
panel exactly opposite each other accurately. The plate 
has feet on its edges so that it sets perfectly plumb or 
perpendicular on the surface plate. 

A pair of panel boards are clamped in place on oppo- 
site sides of the vertical plate and a horizontal line is 
scratched with a surface gauge at the point where the 
drag pattern is to be placed. A corresponding line is 
scratched on the cope panel. The paneled plate is then 
turned edgeways one-fourth of a turn. A line is 
scratched again on both panels. This line intersects the 
first at right angles. The patterns are placed on the 
panels accurately with reference to these intersections. 

Follow Boards for the Jarring Machine 

Make a table of pattern pin distances for use as a 
standard, such as given in Fig. 21. Plan the distances 
so that a pattern that should be placed lengthwise cannot 
be placed crosswise. The method of locating the pin 
holes in the follow board is as follows : 

1. Put pin holes A and B, Fig. 22, into board for the 
flask pins. 

2. Draw a line through A and B. 

3. Mark off point C midway between A and B. 

4. Draw main center line DE through C. Note: This 
line DE must be at exact right angles to AB. 



140 



SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 



F and G are holes in the pattern board for pattern 
pins. The line FG must be parallel to AB. The dis- 
tance from F to H must be exactly the same as G to H. 



<T . 4' • ft' • 4" • 4' ' 3'-2g-2g- &• A' • 4> • 4' • 4' • 4* 



Fig. 21 — Suggested Table for Pattern Pin Distances 

It makes no difference where H comes on the line DE. 
It can come at C if necessary. In practice FG is gen- 
erally located on the line AB. The pin holes then come 
on the line AB. 

Placing Pins in Patterns 

The procedure in placing pins in split patterns is as 
follows : 

1. Place the pins in the cope pattern a distance apart 
equal to the distance from F to G on follow board. That 

is the distance between pins in 
the cope pattern must be such 
that they match the pin holes 
in the follow board. 

2. Pin holes in the drag pat- 
tern must match pins in the 
cope pattern and the drag pat- 
tern must match the cope 
pattern. 

Note: It makes no difference where these pins and 
pin holes in the pattern come in relation to the pattern. 



L 




F 


H 9 


i 





Fig. 22 — Locating Pins in 
Follow Board 



PATTERNS FOR MOLDING MACHINES 



141 



That is they can be out of parallel with center line of 
pattern. They can be nearer one end of the pattern than 
the other. 

3. Exchange pin holes in the drag for pins. 

The procedure in the case of half patterns is as fol- 
lows: 

1. The distance between pins in the pattern must 
match the distance between pin holes F and G in the 
board. 

2. A line through these pins IO in Fig. 23 must be 
parallel with the center line NJ. 

3. The distance from I to the cross center line LKM 
(that is IK) must be exactly the same as OK. 

Note : It makes 



n 



M 



u 



Fig. 23 — Diagram for Locating Pins 
in Pattern 



no difference where 
K comes on the line 
LM. It can come at 
the point where NJ 
crosses LM, if neces- 
sary. 

All the dimensions 
of the pins for the 
patterns and the pin 

holes for the follow boards are made to exact size. 
The flange around the bottom of the pin is perfectly true 
with the pin. The pin hole is exactly central in its piece 
of brass. 

The process in detail of putting the pins into the pat- 
terns is as follows : Tram points are set accurately to a 
steel rule. The distance is marked on the drag pattern 
from the center K out to the correct location of pattern 
pins I and O. Circles are described at I and O the exact 
size of the pattern pin plates. With a very sharp tool 
the pattern is routed out inside these circles the exact 
diameter of the flanges on the pattern pins. Before plac- 



142 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

ing the pins into these routed depressions, special tool 
steel disks are inserted having sharp raised edges on 
them that will describe a circle the exact diameter of the 
outside of the flanges of the pattern pins. The sharp 
edges stand above the surface of the drag pattern 1/16 
to % inch. The cope half of the pattern is now laid on 
and the edges carefully matched. When it is perfectly 
set it is hit with a rubber maul. This jams the patterns 
together and the tool steel disks describe circles on the 
cope pattern, locating exactly the pins that go into this 
half. 

The foreman patternmaker keeps a couple of hard- 
wood blocks, each block having a hole drilled through it 
the exact size of the pattern pin. He drops these blocks 
over the drag pattern pins and places the cope pattern 
upon the drag pattern. The cope pins enter the holes in 
the blocks. The blocks locate the pins of the cope pat- 
tern opposite the pins on the drag pattern and hold them 
slightly apart from each other. When this is done he 
sights around the edges of the patterns and sees that 
there is no shift. 

A pattern can be rammed on the jarring machine by 
fitting pins into the old pin holes if they be spaced cor- 
rectly to match the follow board, holding the pins in 
place by wood screws running lengthwise through them 
into the wood at the bottom of the holes. In this way 
a pattern can be either hand or jar rammed. 

When follow boards become worn where the flask 
rests, lay strips of old leather belts on the worn places. 
This will raise the flask enough to insure the mold joint 
being sand to sand and not flask to flask and prevent 
runouts. 

Suggested Sizes of Flasks 

In order to make a small equipment of flasks cover a 
wide range of work, plan their sizes and shapes accord- 



PATTERNS FOR MOLDING MACHINES 143 

ing to a system. Three shapes will probably cover all 
your needs : a flask nearly square, one a little less than 
twice as long as it is broad, and one more than twice as 
long as it is broad. Adopt a system of spans for pins 
and make the flasks to suit them — something like this : 



c- c Distance 

fl Sl f ° f between 

flask, in. pins, in. 



. e Distance 

a Sl f <? f between 

3ask ' m - ,.pins, in. 



14 x27 30 

17^x173^ 20 

18 x3VA 34 

20 x35 38 

20 x59 62 

24 x27 29 

24 x41 44 

24 x71 74 

30 x35 38 

30 x53 56 



30x89 92 

38x 41 44 

38x69... 72 

38x113 116 

48x 53 56 

48x83 86 

48x183 146 

60x69 72 

60x105 108 

60x179 182 



The pin distances on this list are 20, 30, 38, 44, 56, 72, 
86 and 108 inches for the standard flasks and 62, 74, 92, 
116, 146 and 182 inches for the long flasks. If the flasks 
are made of structural iron the pin distance of 30 inches 
ought to be reduced to 29 inches on account of the flange 
being narrow. 

Good flask equipment pays. An inexperienced man 
can make molds with good equipment. Only the best 
molders can use poor flasks. Channel iron flasks are 
easily made. Saw a slit on the flanges at the points 
which are to become corners. Heat the channel in a 
blacksmith fire and bend. This makes a very stiff, dur- 
able flask with a riveted joint at one corner only. 

Use sheet steel bottom boards with angle iron battens 
on the under side of flasks up to 30 x 35 inches. Above 
this, use wooden boards. Steel plates do not burn, but 
are not satisfactory in large sizes, as they are too heavy 
to handle, and they warp if there is a bad bottom runout. 



144 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Foundry Output 

A man in a jobbing foundry makes molds for chain 
pump sprocket wheels at the rate of one every 3% min- 
utes. He sets 10 cores in each mold. 

I noticed in Cincinnati, on furnace work, an Italian 
molder had 105 molds up at 10 :50 in the morning. The 
flasks were 10 x 12 inches, 5 inches depth of drag and 5 
inches cope. There were six long narrow patterns in 
each mold. 

The best two men in a jobbing foundry in Indianap- 
olis put up 210 molds together in a day, one man work- 
ing on drags and one on copes. The castings were wash- 
ing machine wheels 24 inches in diameter ; the copes were 
4 inches deep and the drags the same depth. 

On plain plate work one man will put up 50 floor 
molds, 24 x 24 inches and 10 inches deep by 4 :00 p. m. 

The molding machine companies claim 275 molds in 
7 hours on 11 x 16 inch flasks, 1200 pounds of iron 
poured. They get this wonderful record by paying the 
man an enormous bonus and allowing him to rest up for 
a number of days after the record is made. 

Jobbing foundries sell furnace work at $2.25 per 100 
pounds, stove plate at $2.40 per 100 pounds, and the 
lightest work at $2.75 per 100 pounds, when pig iron is 
$17.50. Their general cost, which has to be added to the 
piece price given the molder, runs about $1.50 per 100 
pounds on the prices named. Corliss engine castings, 
I am told, cost $1.70 per 100 pounds to make. 

Foundry loss of castings runs about 10 per cent, on 
the average ; well-run foundries about 5 per cent. 

A Mixture for White Metal Patterns 

Lead, 5 parts. 
Tin, 3 parts. 
Antimony, 1 part. 



PATTERNS FOR MOLDING MACHINES 145 

Bismuth, 2 parts. 

Use all new sand for the molds and ram very hard. 
Pour the metal very cold. The metal should not be hot 
enough to ignite brown paper. 



ARTICLE XIII 
THE SUCCESSFUL MACHINE SHOP 

How Avoidable Losses May Be Prevented — 
When to Buy a New Machine — Where Profits 
Are Injudiciously Sunk — The Night Shift 

THE average machine shop operates at about 30 
per cent, of its capacity. To test the truth of this 
statement, step out into the shop an dnotice how 
many machines are running one speed slower than they 
should. The tool should be cutting at the rate of 60 to 
100 feet per minute for outside turning of steel and cast 
iron ; at 40 to 60 feet per minute when boring on inside 
work, and at 60 to 100 feet per minute when milling. 

Drills of high speed steel should be spinning at a fast 
rate. A %-inch drill should be revolving so fast that 
you cannot see the flutes. The modern type of twist 
drill will drill through 15 inches of cast iron in a minute, 
or through 4 inches of steel per minute. Is it drilling 
that fast? The answer will be "No" every time. To 
show how the new tool steel has changed conditions, the 
highest speed on a radial drilling machine bought 8 
years ago, is too slow for a %-inch drill. 

Are you trying to turn work on long, slim arbors ? It 
is impossible to take a heavy cut on an arbor unless it is 
short and thick. Either the work will slip or the arbor 
will spring. 

Look at your steel and cast-iron borings. Are all the 
steel borings blue in color from the heat generated by 
the high speed at which the machine was running? Are 



148 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

your cast-iron chips the size of grains of wheat and 
corn, showing that heavy cuts have been taken? Or are 
they a pile of iron dust, showing that fine feeds have 
been used? The feed on all machines should be so 
heavy that the cutter chatters on the roughing cut. Let 
the finishing cut take out the chatter marks. 

Where to Look for Avoidable Losses 

Are the jigs and fixtures such that it takes less than 
2 minutes' shutdown of machine between the end of the 
finishing cut on one piece and the start of the first cut on 
the next piece? 

Do you use drill spotting marks cast in the castings 
to locate the point of the drill, thus avoiding the use and 
expense of jigs and saving the expense of laying out the 
holes ? 

Examine the design of your product piece by piece. 
You will find by redesigning it that 20 to 30 per cent, of 
the labor cost can be eliminated. 

What amount of finish is allowed by the pattern 
maker? Is it so heavy that the machinist is forced to 
take three cuts to bring the work to size? He should 
take but two cuts. 

Watch your vise hands. What tools do they use the 
most, the wrench or the hammer, chisel or file? Parts 
should come to them from the machines so that erecting 
is merely a bolting- together process. No chipping, fil- 
ing, hand tapping, hand studding, hand scraping, draw- 
ing over of holes, patching or shimming should be al- 
lowed. Whenever a man uses a hammer and chisel, or a 
file, it means that a blunder has been made somewhere. 
A mistake has been made in the machine shop, pattern 
shop or in the drafting room. 

Look down the main aisle of the plant. Isn't there a 
gang of men tramping up and down, some of whom 
should be working? At the toolroom is not the group of 



THE SUCCESSFUL MACHINE SHOP 149 

men standing there greater than necessary? Are there 
not places where two men are working at half speed 
where one man could do the work of the two ? 

Watch the foremen. Are they not doing too much 
clerical work and not enough overseeing? They are 
hired for overseeing. 

If your plant is driven by electricity, take meter read- 
ings at your generator every 15 minutes for one day. 
Note the slow start in the use of power in the morning, 
also the let down in the late afternoon. 

Have all the designing rules that look to economy 
been followed? Are you eliminating all brass work pos- 
sible from your designs? Is your design such that you 
are doing a lot of unnecessary machine work which by 
closer foundry work could be entirely eliminated? Look 
at a cast-iron lock. Nearly all the parts in it are just as 
they came from the foundry. They have practically no 
machining on them, yet they work perfectly and last 
indefinitely. See how ingeniously hardware and agri- 
cultural machinery are designed in this respect. 

Saving in the Foundry 

Look at the pile of scrap rejected by the machine shop 
on account of bad foundry work. This can be reduced. 
On the most difficult kinds of casting this loss can be 
kept down as low as 5 per cent., which means that only 
5 per cent, of the castings of a difficult nature machined 
by the machine shop will prove defective on account of 
bad foundry work. 

Is the jar ram molding machine used on all large 
molds? Is the making of a mold divided into parts, 
skilled men working on the skilled part of molding only? 
Are all other parts of mold making done by handy men ? 
Is the squeezer type of machine that makes both cope 
and drag at one squeeze used on small work? On me- 



150 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

dium-sized and large work the jarring machine will re- 
duce the molding time 60 to 75 per cent. The squeezer 
will cut the small molding cost 40 to 50 per cent. 

Time your best squeezer molding machine man and 
your best bench molder on making one mold. Figure at 
this rate how many molds he should have made. If he 
is making no unnecessary motions allow him, say 20 per 
cent, leeway for resting and other incidentals that inter- 
fere with the steady run of the work. Is he putting up 
a good day's work? 

Are you running 66 to 75 per cent, scrap, or its equiv- 
alent, in off-grade pig iron in the cupola? This is abso- 
lutely practicable no matter how fine a grade of castings 
is being made. Does your iron come glistening white 
hot from your cupola, thus eliminating dirt and bubbles 
in your machined faces ? 

Are you using a mixture for brass with as high a per- 
centage of lead and zinc in it as is permissible on your 
work ? Zinc and lead are very low-priced metals as com- 
pared to copper and tin, and the use of them will reduce 
your brass cost. 

Eliminating False Movements 

Are the men making false movements? Is their work 
arranged so that they have eliminated all the unneces- 
sary steps ? Instead of giving each man a book of rules 
and regulations, it might be better to give him a little 
book teaching him the correct cutting speeds and feeds 
for different metals, the use of the micrometer index 
dials on the machine feed screws for duplicating work, 
and how to eliminate false movements. 

Are the total tons output of the plant each year high- 
er than the previous year, without any increase in the 
hours of labor? There should be an improvement in this 
respect each year. 



THE SUCCESSFUL MACHINE SHOP 151 

Take advantage of all these points, because the profits 
lie in these small savings throughout the plant. A plant 
that does not save on all the smallest details will run at 
a loss, or, at best, just break even. A competitor who 
just breaks even sets the selling price on your article. 
He cannot sell any cheaper and continue to exist. Your 
profit then, if you sell at his price, is what you can save 
in the little leaks here and there that he neglects. 

A 24-Pound Pump of 18 Pieces for $1 

A small hand pump is a good illustration of what can 
be done in economical manufacturing. It is about down 
to the rock-bottom limit for manufacturing cost. A No. 
2 iron cistern pump, with a 1^-inch suction pipe, weighs 
24 pounds, and is sold by the manufacturer to the dealer 
for $1. This is at the rate of 4 cents per pound. 

The pump is made up of 18 pieces, counting the bolts 
but not the nuts. The pieces are: Handle; spout; 3- 
inch cylinder; base; forged sucker rod; piston; piston 
follower ; cup leather ; leather suction valve ; leather suc- 
tion valve weight; leather suction valve screw; leather 
suction valve washer ; suction pipe reducer ; two bolts in 
handle ; one bolt for holding on the spout ; two bolts for 
holding the cylinder to the base. Every piece has ma- 
chine work on it. The sucker rod has forge work on it. 
The cylinder is bored and polished its full length. 

Just analyze what the $1 that the manufacturer gets 
for this pump has to cover. We will assume that the 
profit is 9 cents on the pump, or about 10 per cent, of 
the cost. Then 91 cents must cover all expenses. As- 
suming the material and casting cost at 2 cents per 
pound, which is extremely low, gives a total of 48 
cents for the 24 pounds of material. This only leaves 
43 cents, about 1^4 cents per pound, to machine, to as- 



152 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

semble and to pay office expenses, advertising, overhead 
expenses and bad debts. 

The assumption of 2 cents per pound for the castings, 
bolts and other material is low for this work. The cheap, 
heavy handle would be offset by the cored cylinder and 
lighter pieces. It can be done, though, as foundries sell 
furnace work at 2*4 cents per pound, stove plate at 2.4 
cents per pound and the lighter work at 2% cents per 
pound when pig iron is $17.50 per ton. The foundry's 
costs are lower than these. 

Manufacture for a Bottomless Selling Price 

How would you like to sell your product for 4 cents 
per pound? Go at you manufacturing proposition as 
though this were the case, and you will make your for- 
tune so fast you will not know where to invest your 
money. Don't assume that the selling price of a product 
has reach its bottom; it has not. Firms are making 
money manufacturing bicycles to-day and selling them 
to the dealer at $10 apiece. They used to be sold at $50 
apiece. 

This shows what can be done in price cutting if 
enough pressure is brought to bear on a product. The 
output per man in the machine and erecting shop of a 
certain company increased 84 per cent, and in the foun- 
dry 34 per cent, per man in three years. This concern 
did not take full advantage of its improved position. It 
was satisfied ; satisfied people never do their best. It did 
not push the sales as it should. It sold more each year, 
but the sales did not increase as fast as the plant capacity 
increased from improved methods. The nearest the sales 
got to the manufacturing capacity in one year was 75 
per cent. The number of employees dropped from 230, 
working overtime, to 165 with no overtime. To-day ma- 
chines and vises are standing empty, although the busi- 



THE SUCCESSFUL MACHINE SHOP 153 

ness is larger than it ever was before. The interesting 
thing about this company is that the increase was made 
purely by management and not by getting in new ma- 
chinery. In fact nine-tenths of the machine tools were 
so old that the companies that had made them had gone 
out of business. It took the firm about 25 years to get 
rich, whereas it could have done it in 10 or 15 if it had 
sold to capacity each year. 

Spending Money for Equipment 

The above is a good example of that type of success- 
ful management which lies in working old equipment to 
the limit, thus increasing the output of the plant without 
added equipment expense. It is management and not 
equipment that makes the money. Generally speaking, 
more money can be made from old machines that are 
paid for than by borrowing money for new machines to 
replace the old ones. The heaviest old machines will 
safely cut 10 cubic inches of cast iron per minute from a 
casting. This is a good rate. 

The old machines have their place. On the lighter 
classes of work they can keep right up with the modern 
tools so far as output is concerned. All that is needed is 
here and there a heavy, high-powered, modern machine 
to do the hogging work of the plant. New equipment 
should be of a durable nature, and also of a sort that re- 
quires little attention. But no matter what be the econ- 
omy of a machine or an appliance, if it takes more than 
usual attention to keep it going, or to keep it in repair 
it is not practical, and all the advantage of the economy 
is lost. 

A plant full of old tools, which are run up to their 
limit, will require a big repair gang. Gears will wear 
out, parts will be constantly breaking, and the machines 
themselves will get out of line. When the expense of 



154 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

maintenance and repairs exceeds the interest on the cost 
of a new machine, then it is economy to make replace- 
ment, but not before. 

When a New Machine is Warranted 

Often there is a temptation to persuade ourself that 
money is being lost on account of a plant being crowded. 
This may be true, but the interest and depreciation on 
each square foot of idle floor space probably would 
amount to more than the extra labor would cost due to 
being over-crowded. Floor space, including the roof 
overhead, costs on an average $3.25 per square foot. 
Depreciation, interest, repairs, light, heat, insurance, 
etc., at 10 per cent, makes an annual charge of 32.5 cents 
for each square foot of new floor space, which the new 
equipment will have to earn before you can come out 
even. Therefore don't enlarge until you actually have 
to. Many a firm that has made money in the crowded 
state has failed after enlarging. 

If the interest on the money paid out to make a change 
in equipment and the depreciation on the tools equals the 
saving made, nothing has been gained. Suppose a new 
machine tool is bought to replace an old one. This new 
tool, costing $5000, will have to average $2.50 profit per 
day more than the old machine, and continue to earn this 
through dull times as well as good, because this 
$5000 could have been put at interest at 5 per cent, with 
no depreciation in the principal. Depreciation on the 
tool should be charged at 10 per cent.; interest and de- 
preciation together would be 15 per cent, of $5000, or 
$2.50 per working day. 

Improvements do not always pan out so well as ex- 
pected, so never buy a machine tool that is to be purely 
a replacement unless the saving effected by it will pay 
for the new tool in two years. Follow this rule and you 
will play safe and still make plenty of improvements. 



THE SUCCESSFUL MACHINE SHOP 155 

In making radical and expensive changes, write out 
a plan in detail and shelve it for a while. New ideas will 
suggest themselves as time goes on. If possible, go and 
see the plan or machine where it has been in operation 
for a year or more. 

Buy Equipment in Dull Times 

Do all your equipment buying in dull times. They 
come around often enough. You can get concessions 
then in price that will make it easier for your equipment 
to pay for itself. An offer of 5 to 10 per cent, below 
the regular price will be invariably accepted in hard 
times. 

Choose new machinery carefully. The difference in 
the durability or in the possible output between two dif- 
ferent machines is great. Too much thought cannot be 
given to this matter of selection. The best is none too 
good, no matter what the price. New things are changed 
in some detail after being on the market for a year be- 
cause weak points develop in the first design. Let the 
other fellow do the experimenting on the new idea. 

The pay-roll is the big expense, and can be cut down 
by the best machine. A fine machine need turn out but 
very little more than a poorer one to pay the difference 
in the first cost, because the life of a machine tool being 
long, this difference in price is distributed over many 
years, making the extra charge for each year small. 

Put Only Part of the Profits Into Improvements 

A certain portion of the profits should be put back 
into the business in the shape of improvements, but only 
a portion. Otherwise a manufacturer is liable to live his 
life putting all his earnings back into his works. All 
he has at the end is a large works. Neither he nor his 
family have ever enjoyed any of his earnings. Suppose 
a firm's yearly profit equals 10 per cent, of the value of 



156 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

the plant, and suppose this firm increases its plant 10 
per cent, yearly ; then all profits are returned to the plant 
and none go to dividends. A competitor will forge 
ahead of a firm that has over-built because the interest 
and depreciation on idle equipment and idle space ab- 
sorb profits. 

Go through the plants of some of our immense cor- 
porations and note the idle cranes and other equipment 
that are eating up money in interest and depreciation. 
This is why they have trouble paying dividends. For- 
tunes are made by the medium-sized manufacturers with 
seemingly poor and old equipment, whereas some of the 
big corporations have a hard task at the end of their fis- 
cal year trying to avoid showing a deficit. 

Are you putting money into equipment that never 
pays a cent on the investment? A poor manager will 
want to spend thousands of dollars for machinery, jigs, 
tools, changes in buildings, etc., before he can get start- 
ed. This is the dodge of a man who is not going to make 
good. The writer knows a manager who is a wonderful 
and ingenious mechanic who leaves ruin behind where- 
ever he goes. When he takes charge of a plant he 
spends so much money for tools and equipment that the 
firm never survives the financial strain. He is always 
getting the plant ready to manufacture. He never ar- 
rives at the manufacturing point. There is always some- 
thing more to do. 

Equipment Which is a Constant Expense 

A good illustration of an expensive equipment that 
makes no saving but is a constant expense is the sand- 
handling and mixing equipment in some of the newer 
foundries. We still have to see one that actually de- 
creases the number of foundry laborers. Yet thousands 
of dollars are tied up in this equipment, and thousands 
more are spent in power, repair bills and attention just 



THE SUCCESSFUL MACHINE SHOP 157 

to keep the apparatus running. Each of these equip- 
ments takes as much shoveling to get the sand into them 
and out of them as to cut over the sand by hand. A few 
husky laborers will cut up a lot of sand in a foundry 
during the night, with no interest or depreciation charge. 
At a foundrymens meeting the principal speaker of 
the afternoon read a paper on "Modern Foundry Prac- 
tice." He was the manager of a completely equipped 
foundry, and said: "To turn out castings economically 
you must have electric traveling cranes in the foundry 
and in the yard, overhead trolleys, power boom- derricks, 
intershop tracks and cars, mold ovens, sand-mixing ma- 
chinery, sand conveyors to each floor, open gratings in 
the floor to shake molds out over, lockers for the men's 
clothing, shower baths, etc." Later, in a discussion on 
the selling price of castings, this same speaker said: 
"Something ought to be done to stop the cutting of 
prices on castings. You do not know what kind of foun- 
dries we have up in Chicago. Little low-roofed dark 
smoky places, down below the street level, where the 
molders have to work all day by gas light. The way 
some of those foundries cut prices is a caution. I do not 
see how they do it and continue to exist. We, with all 
our fine equipment, lose money when we try to meet 
their prices." This was an unconscious admission that 
his company had loaded itself with expensive equipment 
charges and repair bills that made it hard to meet com- 
petitive prices. 

The Value of a Night Shift 

Do not enlarge until you have to, and then don't do it. 
It is better to put on a night shift. All the great man- 
agers have found that a night shift on machines, with a 
good hustling foreman, is a gold mine. A night shift 
increases the output enormously with little increase in 



^58 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

the overhead expense. At night three-fourths of the 
people and material things that make the overhead ex- 
pense are asleep, and therefore are of no expense to the 
firm. 

The night shift may improve the output 75 per cent. 
To make this increase by day work would require a large 
outlay of money, which means additional interest and 
depreciation charges. Night men require 25 to 30 per 
cent, higher wages than day men. Set the pay so that 
men will wish to work on the night shift. 

The output per man, at night, should be greater than 
in the day, because only the modern high-power big out- 
put machines are run at night. The men work longer 
hours, 6 p. m. to 6 a. m., with no shutdown for the mid- 
night meal if this happens to come while the machine is 
taking a big, long cut. The men are drawing the high- 
est wages in the plant and are not likely to shirk. 

It does not pay to run a night shift more than 
five nights a week. A night shift cannot be used in 
assembling for quality will suffer. In the foundry it 
pays to run pouring and shake-out gangs at night. 

The output of a plant is controlled by the machine de- 
partment. All other departments are flexible. Enlarge 
this gateway and you have increased the whole plant 
capacity. A plant rushed to the breakdown point, the 
foremen crowded with work, and each workman with ten 
jobs waiting to get into his machine is in the most de- 
sirable state. 

Cutting labor cost is not of the first importance if it 
means cutting wages. A high output per man, even 
with high wages, will reduce the cost per piece and en- 
large the capacity of the shop. The good manager will 
seek to attain this end. For that is the pathway to pro- 
fits. 



ARTICLE XIV 
INCREASING SHOP PRODUCTION 

Illustrations of Efforts to Bring Machines 
to Maximum Capacity with the Resultant 
Effect on Overhead Charges and Profits 

THE actual output of the average cotton mill is 
from 80 to 90 per cent, of its theoretical capacity ; 
that of the machine shop is seldom over 30 per 
cent. With proper selection and training of the men, 
and with good management, a machine shop can attain 
the same efficiency as the cotton mill, or nearly three 
times its present capacity. To accomplish this, however, 
those in authority must plan the work, the fixtures and 
shape of cutting tools instead of leaving all these to the 
workman. Thirty per cent, sounds like a low figure. 
The following incident shows how nearly right it is. 

Certain machines in a shop had a month's work ahead. 
One machine, a cylinder boring lathe, was using a feed 
of 1/32 inch per revolution. The foreman ordered it in- 
creased to 1/16 inch. The workman, as soon as the fore- 
man's back was turned, dropped the feed again to 1/32 
inch. Continued pressure on the man brought the feed 
and speed up to the apparent limit of capacity of the 
machine. 

The superintendent offered the machinist, who al- 
ready was receiving high wages, an increase of 1% cents 
per hour. At the same time he told the man that he was 
going to watch him and ascertain if the shop was receiv- 
ing an increase in output over the present rate equivalent 
to, or greater than, the increase in pay. The workman 



160 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

promptly rose to the occasion, and the noise made by the 
machine on the roughing cut could be heard all over the 
shop. But little time was lost in changing cutters and 
only a few minutes were needed to change cylinders. 
For finishing the ends of the cylinders two-bar facing 
attachments, one at each end, were used on the boring 
bar. The workman put a belt tightener on the cone belt 
to enable the machine to pull a heavy cut. The net result 
was nearly double the previous output which had been 
the apparent limit. 

Another incident will bear out the statement made in 
the first paragraph. A number of 12 -inch steam cylin- 
ders, 15% inches long with a 3/16-inch finish to be re- 
moved on each side on the roughing cut, and with 1/32 
inch to be removed on the finishing cut, were to be ma- 
chined in a Draper cylinder lathe about ten years old. 
The foreman decided to see just how quickly the job 
could be done. The machine was speeded to 14 r.p.m. A 
roughing cut of %-inch feed per revolution was taken 
with a feed of % inch for finishing. The machinist ob- 
jected, saying that the belt would slip under such a cut 
and that the cylinder would spring so much under the 
roughing cut that the finishing cut would never true it 
up. Neither thing happened. The belt did not slip and 
the finishing cut trued the bore perfectly. 

What Working a Machine to Capacity Accomplished 

This incident shows that the average workman does 
not know the capacity of his machine. The machinist in 
this case really believed what he said. The roughing cut 
on this job required 11 minutes and the finishing cut 6 
minutes. Fifteen minutes were necessary for removing 
the finished casting from the jig and putting in a rough 
one. One minute was spent in tool changing ; a total of 
33 minutes for the job. The best previous time for this 
operation was 95 minutes. 



INCREASING SHOP PRODUCTION 161 • 

Let us analyze what this means to the firm. If the 
time on every operation in the plant could be cut in the 
same proportion, the time and labor cost could be cut 
66 per cent. The firm, in the past, we will say, was mak- 
ing a 10 per cent, profit. Assume that the average fin- 
ished machine cost was as follows : 

Material in machine '. $ 82.00 

Labor 20.00 

Overhead and selling expense 51 . 00 

Total cost on machines $153 . 00 

Selling price $168.30 

The cost 153.00 

Profit, 10 per cent $15.30 

Now, cutting the above labor cost to 34 per cent, of 
what it had been, would change the cost to this : 

Material, as before $ 82 . 00 

Labor — 34 per cent, of former cost 6 . 80 

Overhead and selling expense — 75 per cent, of former 

cost 38.25 

$127.05 

Selling price, as before $168 . 30 

Cost 127.05 

Profit $41.25 

Instead of a profit of 10 per cent, on each machine 
shipped, the profit would be 32 per cent. More than 
that, the increased output per man and per machine 
would mean an increased yearly plant capacity of 294 
per cent., with no increase in the equipment. 

Suppose the sales were $110,000 per year, with a cost 
of $100,000, or a profit of 10 per cent. Now, with the 
increase in the output of 294 per cent., the sales would 
be $323,400. At the new rate the cost would be 
$245,000, leaving a profit of $78,400, or 32 per cent. 



162 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

As an actual fact, the showing would not be as great 
as this, for in order to triple the sales the selling price 
would be cut. This would reduce the profits. Another 
point that would reduce the profits would be an increase 
in the plant pay-roll. Each productive workman, on ac- 
count of the added strain on him from increased pro- 
duction would have to be paid 20 to 30 per cent, more 
than in the past. This would affect only that portion of 
the force that were actually doing the work on the pro- 
duct. It would probably increase the pay-roll 10 per 
cent. 

Suppose these reductions brought the year's profits 
down to $50,000 or $60,000. Comparing this with their 
previous profit of $10,000, it shows that a firm can make 
a comfortable fortune in 10 or 20 years if it will go to 
the limit in manufacturing and selling. 

Changes Possible in Overhead Charges 
The following changes in overhead expense would be 
made if the output were tripled with no increase in the 
equipment or the number of men who do actual work on 
the product. Before tripling the assumption is that 
each $100 of overhead expenses is divided as shown in 
the first column. 

Before After 

Office salaries $ -16.50 $ 24.00 

Traveling men's salaries and expenses ... 16 . 00 38 . 10 

Advertising 5 . 50 14 . 45 

Office supplies and catalogues 3 . 00 9 . 00 

Factory heads' salaries 7 . 80 9 . 80 

Pattern expense 8 . 30 16 . 60 

Petty cash, freight, drayage, etc 9 . 50 27 . 00 

Tool supplies, shop castings, etc 3 . 20 9 . 00 

Work on machine tools and jigs 9 . 50 26 . 00 

Roustabouts 6.20 17.50 

Studs, bolts, paint and like supplies 8 . 30 24 . 00 

Engine room labor 3 . 00 3 . 25 

Coal bill, belts, etc 3.20 6.30 

$100.00 $225.00 



INCREASING SHOP PRODUCTION 163 

Where $100 had been spent as overhead expense man- 
ufacturing a machine, $225 would be spent on three of 
these machines as overhead expense, after the plant out- 
put had been tripled, with no increase in the equipment. 
The overhead expense on one would be $75. Thus the 
overhead expense on any one machine, built after the 
increased output, would be only three-fourths of what it 
had been before. 

The only increase in the office force would be in the 
circular letter-writing department, and possibly an extra 
person to answer the added correspondence. The in- 
crease in the cost-keeping and bookkeeping departments 
would be very little. A couple of low-priced girls could 
take care of it. 

The traveling expenses would not be tripled, as cer- 
tain economies could be practiced when selling on a large 
scale. The low selling price would be a great stimulus to 
the sales department. The advertising field could be 
fairly well covered without tripling the advertising. The 
office soliciting and catalogue expense would be tripled, 
as letter soliciting would be pushed to the limit. The 
number of factory heads would not increase. Their sal- 
aries would be a little higher. 

Pattern expense would not increase in proportion to 
the increased output, as the increase would probably 
come on the more standard lines of work, which would 
require no pattern work. The tool supplies, shop cast- 
ings, etc., would not triple, nor would the tool work be 
tripled. Roustabouts would not increase three times. 

Studs, bolts, nuts, paint and like supplies would not 
triple in cost, as on account of buying in larger quanti- 
ties lower prices would be paid. Some supplies that pre- 
viously had been bought would be manufactured. 

Engine room labor would increase little, if any. The 
coal bill would increase very little. There would be no 



164 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

more power used to overcome the dead-load friction 
(shafting, countershafts, loose pulleys, etc.) than be- 
fore. There would be no increase in the coal for heating. 

Ideal Conditions in the Machine Shop 

There are certain ideal conditions that every machine 
shop should strive to attain. These are. (1) all ma- 
chine tools should cut to the limit of the power of the 
tool steel; (2) the chucking fixtures should be so de- 
signed that the chucking time on machines is reduced to 
a minimum. The West Albany Shops of the New York 
Central & Hudson River Railroad furnished a fine ex- 
ample of the attainment of these ideal conditions. The 
information was obtained from the Niles-Bement-Pond 
Co. 

The job was the turning of 36-inch Krupp & Paige 
wheels in a Pond lathe. During a continuous run from 
7:00 a. m. to 5:35 p. m., with one hour out at noon, 33 
pairs of wheels were turned. The details of the per- 
formance are shown in the table below: 

Average time putting wheels into lathe 2 min. 28 sec. 

Average time roughing 9 min. 23 sec. 

Average time finishing 5 min. 17 sec. 

Time required for removal 1 min. 

Total average time on one pair of wheels . 17 min. 58 sec. 

Average depth of cut 3/16 in. 

Average cutting speed 14.4 ft. per min 

Cubic inches of steel removed per minute average 13.1 

Minimum time putting wheels in lathe 1 min. 

Maximum time putting wheels in lathe 4 min. 

Minimum roughing time 7 min. 

Maximum roughing time 12 min. 

Minimum finishing time 3 min. 

Maximum finishing time 7 min. 

Minimum time on one pair of wheels 14 min. 

Maximum time on one pair of wheels 21 min. 

These ideal records were obtained after fitting the 
lathe with a pneumatic tool-clamping holder, power 
movement of the heads on the lathe bed, pneumatic 



INCREASING SHOP PRODUCTION 165 

clamping of the heads to the beds, by having the seg- 
ment in central driving gear open, close and lock auto- 
matically when wheels were rolled in and out — no at- 
tention being required by the operator. These devices 
reduced the idle time of the lathe to 3 minutes 28 sec- 
onds, or 11 per cent, of the total time. 

By having a machine powerful enough to cut to the 
limit of the tool steel, by removing the finished work 
promptly from the vicinity of the machine, and by having 
raw material at hand for the lathe so that no time was 
lost waiting for it, an output of 30 pairs of tires per day 
of 10 hours was secured day after day. The machine in 
question was driven by a 40-hp. motor, which is equal to 
one-half the power used at the tool points in the average 
machine shop employing 250 men. 

Manufacturing Losses that Never Show 

A firm must get its manufacturing costs low enough 
to be able to sell a little under the market and still make 
profit. It must be a good, safe profit, as there are man- 
ufacturing losses that never show on the cost cards. The 
actual cost of a finished machine is higher than that 
given by the cost cards. This fact will be noticed at the 
end of the year. Some of these losses are: The scrap- 
ping of rough or finished parts on account of a change 
in the design ; change in the market that makes a certain 
class of machinery, or parts of machines, obsolete. 
These parts may be retained, but the loss is there just the 
same. Money has been spent for something that will 
never bring a return. 

To select the best method of machining a piece an- 
alyze and time the different steps taken. For instance, 
the number of seconds required to chuck the piece; the 
number of seconds to put in the roughing cutter; the 
number of seconds required for the roughing cut; the 



166 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

number of seconds necessary to change cutters ; the num- 
ber of seconds required for the finishing cut; the num- 
ber of seconds required for taking out finishing cutter; 
the time necessary for taking the piece out of the ma- 
chine, etc. Having this information concerning several 
methods, one can easily decide what is the best method 
of doing the work or devise a new method better than 
any of the old ones. The method having the least idle 
time will be the best. 

Avoid as much as possible the use of special machine 
tools. Use the method that will allow a small number of 
jigs and fixtures to cover all sizes of pieces. Select that 
method which will enable the operator to be setting up 
one piece while the machine is cutting on another piece. 

Determining on Best Method of Operation 

A good method of investigation is to take the most 
popular size of machine that you build. Get out the 
rough stock complete for two machines. Start machin- 
ing these a piece at a time. Note in writing every opera- 
tion and every step in each operation down to the mi- 
nutest detail together with the time required for each. 
Do the same in the assembling and the erecting. Sur- 
prisingly bad methods will be discovered the correction 
of which will cut the cost and increase the plant capacity. 

The statistical information thus acquired will always 
be useful in checking the time and cost sent in by the 
men on similar operations or in deciding whether or not 
a change in design will decrease the cost. It will tell 
whether or not the making of a jig or fixture will pay, 
or whether a new machine tool will improve the output, 
and how much it will improve it. The spending of 
money for improvements then will be a safe proposition. 
It will be known that the money will come back. To 
know is better than to guess, or to take the guessing of 
others. 



INCREASING SHOP PRODUCTION 



167 



These notes may be used as a basis for putting the op- 
erating time, speeds and feeds, etc., upon the drawings 
in the forms shown in Table I. 



Table I — Information Tabulated in Studying a Given 
Machine's Production 



u 

S 

3 

a 
m 

-*^ 
a> 
-Jl 


£ 
a 


'•+3 
cj 
u 
<u 
a 



Operation 


T3 

is 


o 

p/j- 


el 

Pi 3 

s > 


r~ — ■ 

« 1 


a 
o 

03 
m a) 

.a -a 

<3 Ol 


0) 
H 

'3 

0> 
M 

la 
.SB 

i< C3 


1 


1 


Chuck 










i^ 


14 




2 


Rough turn j 


[a 


K 


0.111 


8 


3 


3 






Rough face \ simultaneous cuts 


b 


H 


0.111 


8 


iy 2 








Rough face J 


[ c 


3^ 


0.111 


8 


iy 2 






3 


Finish turn 1 


1 A 


0.005 


0.333 


8 


iy 2 


iy 2 






Finish face > simultaneous cuts . . 


1 B 


0.005 


0.333 


8 


% 








Finish face J 


1 c 


0.005 


0.333 


8 


H 








Rough bore 1 . ,, 

_, , -, } simultaneous cuts 

Round edges J 


f D 


5/16 


0.111 


45 

8 


2 
% 


2 




fi 


Truing cut 


D 


1/64 


0.056 


53 


1 


1 




fi 


Ream 


D 


0.005 


0.216 


30.7 


H 


w 




7 


Remove 










14 


Vo 


?, 


1 


Chuck 










M 


14 




2 


Rough face ) . ., 

t, , » } simultaneous cuts . . 

Rough face J 


{; 


H 


0.111 
0.111 


8 
8 


iy 2 
i 


1H 




3 


Finish face 


F 


1/64 


0.333 


8 


14 


14 




4 




F 


1/64 


0.333 


8 


14 


14 




5 


Round edges 










H 


M 




6 


Remove 










y 2 


14 




Total time (individual operations) 
Actual time 


















13 

















These instruction sheets should be pasted on the draw- 
ings. They give, in the minutest detail, not only each 
step in each operation, but the jigs, tools and fixtures, 
speeds, feeds and depths of cut, the time required for 
and the sequence of operations. The jigs and tools will 
be numbered and referred to by number. 



168 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

Many jigs are made at great expense and never used 
a second time because they are forgotten. This is espe- 
cially true where the jig is made to save time on some 
minor operation. The system of having a complete in- 
struction card on each drawing will eliminate this waste- 
ful condition. Pasting the instructions on the drawing 
will allow changes to be made in this sheet without mak- 
ing a new drawing each time. This system will allow 
the chief of the producing end to be a hustler rather than 
a fine mechanic or engineer. 



ARTICLE XV 
CUTTING THE COST OF POWER 

Economies Effected by the Judicious Selec- 
tion and Use of Electric Motors or Other 
Equipment — Hints on the Prevention of Smoke 

DRIVE all small tools requiring less than 5 hp. by 
belts from a line shaft. Drive all tools requiring 
5 hp. or more by individual motors. 

Never use the group system of electric drive except in 
an isolated department where the group motor can be 
shut down half the time. For instance, the pattern shop, 
where the men are doing handwork most of the time and 
all the machines are idle a great part of the time is a 
good place for the group drive. 

More power is wasted and lost in driving a machine 
by electricity than by belts and shafting direct from the 
engine. This is true during the time the machine is run- 
ning. When it is shut down the reverse is true, as then 
a great amount of power is being wasted by the shaft- 
drive system. To get any benefit from electric drive, 
the machines must be shut down a portion of the time. 
An individual motor-driven machine that runs continu- 
ously will have a greater power loss than that same ma- 
chine driven direct from the engine through belts and 
shafting. 

Power Loss from Engine to Tool Point 

Fifteen per cent, of the energy is lost in a generator 
running under half load. A generator that is receiving 
100 hp. from the engine will deliver but 85 hp. to the 



170 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

switchboard. Five per cent, of the energy is lost in 
transmitting the electricity through the lead wires in a 
plant, so that of the 85 hp. at the switchboard, but 80% 
hp. is available at the motors. 

If the motors are running on one-third load, which is 
generally the case, the power loss, changing from elec- 
trical power to mechanical power, in the motors will be 
about 17% P er cent. The 80% hp. at the motors will 
drop to, roughly, 66^0 hp. mechanical power at the mo- 
tor pulley or gear, a net loss of 33 1/3 per cent, from en- 
gine to motor armature. 

The loss in each pair of gears and journals will aver- 
age 7 to 10 per cent. The friction in well-cut gears will 
absorb about 3 or 4 per cent. Adding the friction in the 
bearings or journals the friction in the machine will be 
about 7 to 8 per cent, on the average. As the gears wear 
the power loss increases. Thus 66 2/3 hp. at the driving 
pulley of old machines, will, when transmitted through 
five pairs of gears in each machine tool, shrink to about 
33 hp. at the tool points. When driving electrically 
therefore over two-thirds of the power is lost before it 
gets to the tool points. The only thing that saves the 
electric drive is the fact that power waste completely 
stops when the motors are shut down. 

The loss when driving tools by shafting and belts will 
run about 50 per cent, in the average case. About 5 per 
cent, of the power can be saved by changing the oil in all 
the lineshaft bearings four time a year, instead of once a 
year. Roller bearings will cut the friction loss in half. 
It is practical to use them on new installations only It 
is best to try a couple of roller bearings in a very hard 
place for a year or two to make sure of getting a durable 
style. A bearing that will not wear well must be avoid- 
ed, as a shutdown due to trouble with the line shafting is 
very expensive. 



CUTTING THE COST OF POWER 171 

Advantages of the Three-Phase Motor 

Use three-phase alternating-current induction motors 
on all equipment except the cranes. Use direct-current 
motors on the cranes. 

The alternating-current motor is cheaper than the di- 
rect-current motor. It will stand a bigger overload. The 
cost of repairing, when burned out from an overload, is 
less than the cost of repairs on a direct-current motor. 
The greatest point of all is that the alternating-current 
motor requires no more attention or expense for up-keep 
than the old-fashioned grindstone. Two ring-oiling 
bearings are the only points of wear. The electric cur- 
rent goes into the stationary part of the machine only. 
The revolving part of the machine has no wire on it at 
all, so that the troublesome brushes and commutator are 
entirely eliminated. A plant fully equipped with alter- 
nating-current induction motors will have no trouble, 
whereas one equipped with direct-current motors, espe- 
cially where there is iron dust in the air, will have to keep 
a man continually busy repairing short circuits on the 
commutators and fixing up the brushes. 

Alternating-current motors are not adaptable to vari- 
able speeds, and for this reason they are not satisfactory 
for cranes or for doing work where they have to be run 
slowly at times ; but for all other work, they are ideal. 

Motor Costs and Efficiencies 
A 5-hp. alternating-current motor costing $64 will 
safely do the work of a 7V2" n P- direct-current motor 
costing $156. A 7l/o-hp. alternating-current motor 
costing $121.50 will do the work of a 10-hp. direct-cur- 
rent motor costing $166. The reason for this is because 
there is nothing on an alternating-current motor to 
spark and burn. Alternating-current motors of 5 hp. 
and smaller require no starting boxes. For this reason 
they are cheaper per horsepower than larger motors. 



172 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

The author knows of a firm which buys nothing but 
5-hp. motors, or smaller. They put two motors on one 
machine if they find that one motor fails to pull. Two 
5-hp. motors cost $128. One 10-hp. motor costs $166. 

A destructive overload on an alternating-current mo- 
tor makes itself evident in the shape of heat in the motor. 
The solder starts to fly out into the field winding. A 75- 
hp. motor, if burned out, will cost only $40 to repair, so 
that it is best to risk putting in motors that are a little 
small for the work to save first cost, and thus get a bet- 
ter power efficiency. The overloaded motor uses elec- 
tricity economically. The motor running light is ex- 
travagant in the use of electricity. 

The makers will guarantee motors to stand a 25 per 
cent, overload for 2 hours. Motors will actually stand 
an overload of 25 per cent, for 4 hours ; 50 per cent, for 
1 hour, and 75 per cent, for 10 minutes. This would 
mean that a 7l/r n P- motor can deliver 9.4 hp. for 4 
hours; 11.3 hp. for 1 hour and 13.1 hp. for 10 minutes. 

The efficiency of a motor is the percentage of the elec- 
tric energy delivered to the motor that is turned into me- 
chanical energy. 

The efficiency of a 7%-hp. motor on different loads is : 

1/10 load, or 3/4 hp about 60 per cent. 

3/4 load, or 2J^ hp about 82 >£ per cent. 

3/4 load, or 5M hp about 88 per cent. 

Full load, or 7J^ hp about 88 per cent. 

1/4 overload, or 9.4 hp about 87 per cent. 

1/2 overload, or 11.3 hp about 87 per cent. 

Larger motors have slightly better efficiency ; thus the 
efficiency of a 75-hp. motor is : 

14, load, or 373^ hp 89 per cent. 

% load, or 57 hp 90 per cent. 

Full load, or 75 hp 90 per cent. 

\i overload, 94 hp. . . , 89 per cent. 



CUTTING THE COST OF POWER 173 

The efficiency of direct-current motors is about the 
same as that of alternating-current motors. The same 
is true of generators. An alternating-current generator 
will stand a 50 per cent, overload for 2 hours; 75 per 
cent, overload for 1 hour and a 100 per cent, overload 
for 1 second. 

The following efficiencies can be obtained with gener- 
ators : 

Efficiency, per cent. 

Percentage of full load 30-kw. generator 50-kw. generator 

100 87.4 90.5 

75 86.0 89.0 

50 85.5 85.0 

25 81.0 83.0 

10 50.0 50.0 

When figuring on the size of an alternating-current 
generator to be used for driving motors, a margin must 
be allowed for power factor. A larger generator has to 
be installed than would be necessary if there was no such 
thing as power factor. Power factor does not increase 
the load on the engine. Its effect is purely local in the 
generator. 

A plant with a 100-hp. compound condensing engine 
run in a somewhat slipshod way, with the engine in 
rather bad condition, the boiler setting leaking air more 
or less, the feed water not heated with steam from the 
auxiliaries, can make power for less than 2 cents per kil- 
owatt hour. 

Smoke Prevention 

Smoke can be prevented or reduced by the observance 
of a few simple rules. 

1. Fire five shovels of coal on one side of the furnace, 
covering the fire evenly and keeping the fire level. Five 
minutes later five shovels of coal should be fired on the 
other side in the same way. Keep this up as long as the 
demand for steam is heavy. As the demand for power 



174 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

decreases, reduce the number of shovels at each of the 5- 
minute periods, but do not lengthen the space of time 
between firings, until the call for power is so light that 
two shovelfuls are enough every 5 minutes. If this rate 
of firing still gives too much steam, lengthen the time 
between firings. After each firing leave the fire door 
open about 2 inches for 1 minute, or until the smoke- 
producing gases have left the coal. Fasten a door check 
upon the boiler front in such a way that it will swing 
around slowly and close the fire door automatically after 
the heavy smoke producing gases have passed off the 
coal. This apparatus makes a very efficient smoke pre- 
ventor. 

2. Shake the shaker-grate once an hour. Do not over- 
do this, otherwise the grate bars will be burnt, and un- 
burned coal wasted through the grate. 

3. Clean the boiler flues once a day, either before 
starting in the morning or during the noon hour. 

The foregoing rules of firing will reduce smoke to 
practically nothing and will keep the fires clean, which 
is economical of coal. 

It is a good idea to rig up an alarm clock to ring elec- 
trically every 5 minutes to notify the fireman of the 
exact firing time. Solder a long finger on the minute- 
hand setting the knob at the back of the clock. Arrange 
this finger to make the electric contact at 5-minute inter- 
vals to ring a bell. 



ARTICLE XVI 
LOWERING MACHINE WORK EXPENSE 

Use of Automatic Machines and Tool Hold- 
ers — Establishing Fitting Allowances — Things 
Which the Machine Designer Should Consider 

GENERALLY speaking, there are few jobs that 
an automatic or semi-automatic machine will 
turn out faster than a standard type of machine, 
provided the standard type is as powerful as the semi- 
automatic in drive and has quick changes of speed and 
feed. In other words, the greatest advantage of the spe- 
cial machine is its power and quick changes of feed and 
speed. 

Automatic Versus Standard Machines 

A powerful, standard machine, provided with quick 
changes of speed and feed, will generally turn out work 
cheaper than an automatic or semi-automatic, because: 

1. The average machine job, having few operations 
on it (it should be redesigned if this is not so), rarely 
brings the special features of the semi-automatic into 
play. 

2. In general, the number of pieces to be run through 
are too few to pay to set the stops, etc. 

3. The machines seldom are properly equipped, be- 
cause each new job generalty takes a complete outfit of 
sj)ecial tools. 

4. On account of these machines being more compli- 
cated than the average standard tools, often some one 
part is out of order, not badly enough to pay for over- 
hauling, but enough to interfere with the running. 



176 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

5. The price of such a machine is generally prohibi- 
tive. It is safe to say that in three cases out of four, ex- 
pensive machines are run the same as common machines, 
thus getting 1 no benefit from their special features. 

A powerful engine lathe equipped with a four-sided 
turret tool post and plain cross feed stops will turn out 
duplicate work very rapidly. Add a home-made bar 
holding chuck and the machine is practically equal to a 
very expensive bar stock machine. Longitudinal stops 
are not very necessary as length is easily gauged while 
the lathe is cutting. A clamp can be put on bed for one 
stop and the tools located at different points in the turret 
to cut shoulders at various points. 

Fitting Allowances 

Make a table giving the allowable looseness of the dif- 
ferent parts on the machine you manufacture. Some 
parts do not require a close fit. On these a saving will be 
made by not working too close. Accuracy, as a rule, 
cuts down speed and increases costs. Put this matter 
down in black and white, else the workmen will have no 
way of knowing what work is particular and what is not. 

Wherever possible have each jig so made that it tests 
th accuracy of previous operations. Make the jig so 
that it will not fit the piece or so that the piece will not 
go into the jig if the previous operations have been done 
inaccurately. This method discovers faults in work- 
manship immediately, without the expense of an inspec- 
tor. 

Number each jig and put these numbers on the draw- 
ings. This will insure the jigs being used. 

Three Machine. Shop Suggestions 

A boring bar guided close to the work will stop all 
chatter, and will allow an increase in output of about 30 
per cent, over boring with a bar not so supported. The 



LOWERING MACHINE WORK EXPENSE 177 

casting can be much out of true in the rough and not 
affect the speed of production. There will be no neces- 
sity for cutting down the speed or feed in taking the fin- 
ishing cut. In fact, the feed on the finishing cut can be 
doubled and still make a smooth job. The boring can be 
done in two cuts instead of three. This is not possible 
when the bar is not so guided. 

On duplicate work, where the tool need not be dis- 
turbed, put a clamp on the lathe to act as a stop for the 
cross slide. Accurate work can be turned out very rap- 
idly by this method, as it eliminates calipering. 

The planer type milling machine, with a number of 
cutter heads, reduces the milling cost on work having 
two or more faces to be machined, provided there is 
enough work to keep the machine continually busy. 

Tool Holders 

Use tool holders on all small and old machine tools. 
Probably 95 per cent, of the work done in a machine 
shop is light enough to be handled with tool holders in- 
stead of solid tools. They are great savers of tool steel 
and save even more in wages which must be paid out for 
forging and grinding solid tools. They keep the man at 
the machine. 

A %-inch bar of square steel on a long continuous cut 
on rather hard cast iron, at 70 feet per minute, a 1/9-inch 
feed, and a l/g-mcn depth of cut, will remove 11 cubic 
inches per minute. A stream of chips, literally red hot 
chips, will come off the tool point. 

On soft cast iron, a good grade of %-inch square high- 
speed tool steel will run 110 feet per minute, 1/9-inch 
feed, and a depth of cut of 11/64 inch, removing at this 
rate 25 cubic inches per minute. 

Thus there are few places where the full size forged 
tools are needed. 



178 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

I know of a firm that uses %-inch steel with no tool 
holders. They place a piece under the bar of tool steel 
in the tool post of the lathe to bring the height of the 
steel up to the correct point. This works very satisfac- 
torily. 

Any firm 'that uses a good grade of high-speed steel 
in this way will have a smaller tool steel bill than in the 
days before high-speed tool steel. The reason for this is 
that high-speed steel is ground very little as compared to 
the carbon steels. This freedom from grinding is just as 
true of high-speed steel drills, especially the twisted 
types, as it is of cutters. 

General Machine Specifications to Be Laid Down 

The product of the designer must be an article that is 
readily salable as well as easily made. Certain general 
specifications will have to be kept in mind, which make a 
strong, smooth-running easily operated machine. The 
more important points follow : 

Have quick speed changes. Have quick feed changes. 
Speed steps should not be greater than 50 per cent, from 
one step to the next that is, 2 to 3. Have all operating 
handles within easy reach of the operator. 

Have power pass through as few gears as possible 
from motor to work. No gear should run higher than 
1000 feet per minute tooth speed. Above this speed use 
belts or the silent chain. All gears must be protected. 
Worm gear drives should be avoided, as they wear rap- 
idly and require excessive power. Machine tool makers, 
on some of their heavy machines, are cutting the gear 
teeth on an angle. This prevents chatter and the mark- 
ing of the work by the gear teeth. 

Make all sliding surfaces, such as ways, etc., of ample 
area to take care of thrust pressure and wear. Have 
lubrication well taken care of. On all high-speed bear- 
ings use ring oilers. 



LOWERING MACHINE WORK EXPENSE 179 

Equip all feed screws, etc., with index dials graduated 
to 0.001 inch so that accurate movements can be made 
without calipering or measuring the work. In addition, 
duplicate cuts on different pieces can be taken without 
waste of time. 

Make all bolt slots so that the depth of the narrow 
part is at least 30 per cent, greater than the width of the 
slot, to prevent the breaking of slots. 

It is becoming the rule on lathes to design the spindle 
one-quarter the diameter of the lathe swing for machines 
that take enormous cuts. The tailstock barrel is made 
one-sixth the swing of the lathe. The tailstock is locked 
down with plenty of heavy bolts. 

In choosing the motor for a machine, a rough rule is 
to allow l/o hp. to remove 1 cubic inch per minute of cast 
iron, and 1 hp. to remove the same amount of steel. This 
estimate may be 50 per cent, in error either way, depend- 
ing on the shape of the cut, the hardness of the metal 
and the loss of power in the gearing, bearings, etc. 

The power lost in gearing is greater than is usually 
realized and for this reason slow speed motors are de- 
sirable. To remove 126 cubic inches of steel per minute 
in an engine lathe at a cutting speed of 28 feet per min- 
ute ll/o-inch depth of cut, 14-inch feed per revolution, 
using a single tool, 80 hp. is required. To reduce a bar 
2% inches in diameter to 1 inch, with 11%-inch feed per 
minute, or at the rate of 35 cubic inches per minute, in an 
engine lathe, requires 20 hp. About 92 hp. is required to 
remove 400 cubic inches of steel per minute on a milling 
machine. 

Tool Pressure 

The tool pressure on a lathe is 75 tons when removing 
11 cubic inches per minute with a cut % inch deep, and 
0.05-inch feed per revolution at 185 feet per minute cut- 



180 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

ting speed. This is on mild steel having a tensile strength 
of 56,000 pounds and 44 per cent, elongation. The end 
thrust when drilling with a 3-inch drill, at 100 r.p.m. 
and 0.03-inch feed per revolution or 3 inches deep per 
minute, is about 5000 pounds. Such work would require 
a 50-hp. motor on the machine. 



ARTICLE XVII 
CAPACITIES OF MACHINE TOOLS 

Ways in Which the Superintendent Can Learn 
the Most About Feeds and Speeds — Some Un- 
published Tests — The Shape of Tools 

A CUTTING speed of 100 to 120 feet per minute 
is about correct for outside turning of soft steel, 
while 75 to 80 feet per minute is about right for 
soft cast iron. For inside or boring work, 40 to 60 feet 
is the proper figure, and 500 feet per minute is the speed 
for brass turning. Recently a satisfactory high-speed 
steel for brass has been made. The tool steel maker is 
improving tool steel so rapidly that these speeds prob- 
ably will be increased 15 per cent, in the next five years. 

Tool Steel Tests 

For testing tool steels a casting made especially for 
this purpose should be kept on hand. It will be a mas- 
sive disk of cast iron, say 18 inches in diameter and 8 
inches thick, with bolting-down ears cast on it and a 
tapped hole through the center for a lifting eye-bolt. 
The analysis of the iron in the test casting used by the 
writer is as follows : 

Silicon 1 . 480 per cent. 

Manganese 1 . 070 per cent. 

Graphitic carbon 2 . 560 per cent. 

Combined carbon . 910 per cent. 

Phosphorous . 328 per cent. 

Sulphur . 069 per cent. 



182 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

This, however, is not the mixture used in the regular 
castings, the silicon being lower, the manganese higher 
and the sulphur lower. This casting was made espe- 
cially to test tools on. Any mixture would do as the test 
is a competitive one of each tool against every other tool. 

Test the tool steels by starting a facing cut at the cen- 
ter of the disk and face out toward the periphery. Adopt 
a certain standard speed, feed and depth of cut. The 
different kinds of tool steels will break down at different 
diameters. The steel that stands up on the cut of great- 
est diameter is the one to adopt. This method of testing 
gives a true result. The test piece is the same for all 
steels. It is handy to set up and take out of the machine. 
It is the only good way to settle the tool steel question. 

By means of this test piece and other observations de- 
scribed later, the writer had cutting speed tables for 
Mushet self -hardening steel pretty well made up before 
F. W. Taylor published the results of his experiments. 

As a result of his tests the author patented a cutting 
tool using self -hardening steel that would cut nearly as 
fast as the present high-speed steel. A piece of Mushet 
steel was cast in a heavy copper holder so that only the 
bare cutting point or edge of the steel showed outside of 
the copper. The copper carried away the heat as fast as 
it was generated at the point and thus allowed an in- 
crease in cutting speed. About a year after this patent 
issued Taylor and White's articles on their tool steel ex- 
periments at the Bethlehem Steel Works were published, 
and this resulted in our dropping the tool holder and 
adopting high-speed steel when it came onto the market. 

The Best Shape of Tool 

The best shape tool is one ground to a round nose at 
the end. The top of tool is the shape of the end of a 
man's thumb. The top surface should slant some so as 
to give a lifting effect on the chips, not a scraping effect. 



CAPACITIES OF MACHINE TOOLS 



18-3 



The clearance between the end of the tool and the work 
should be very small. 

We now use high-speed cutting steel altogether in our 
work, except on brass. On this we use self -hardening 
steel. High-speed steel fails to hold a keen edge and 
cannot be used on brass, as a dull tool on brass will bur- 
nish the work. 

Things the Superintendent Should Know 

The superintendent must become not only a hard- 
working student on the subject of speeds and feeds and 
cubic inches per minute ; he must become an authority on 
it. He must know the exact capacity of each machine 
tool in his plant. He cannot carry all of this knowledge 
in his head, so he should make out a book ruled as here 







Cubic 








Rough- 




Name 




Feet 


Total 


Inch 




Feed 




ing or 


Diam. 


and 




Per 


Cubic 


Per 


Total 


For 


Depth 


Finish- 


of 


Shape 


Re- 


Min. 


Inch 


Min. 


Feed 


Each 




ing 


Work 


of 


marks 




Per 


Each 




Cutter 




Cut 




Tool 






Min. 


Cutter 












Steel 





shown and having the same headings across the top of 
the pages. 

Accumulating Machine Data 

Each machine in the plant should have a separate 
page or a number of separate pages in this book to re- 
present it. The pages should be numbered with the same 
numbers that have been given the machines. This book 
should be of the loose-leaf type, as on some of the im- 
portant machines there will be three or four pages of 
these statistical notes. For instance, the cylinder boring 
lathe page will read as shown in Table II. 

The space under "Remarks" will gradually fill with 
such notes as : Limit of power of the machine ; hard cast 
iron; tool O. K. ; cut ten minutes; made machine quiver; 
broke driver ; very heavy cut ; belt broke after nine min- 



184 



SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 











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tH 


co <, 


) CO CO CO 


S^ 


^ 


co co co c 


) 



186 



SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 



utes' run; chips size of small corn grains; tool steel 
burned, but drive O. K. ; belt slipped; tool post shaky; 
sparks from tool; have to reduce speed to prevent chat- 
ter ; feed broke on this cut ; casting so hot could just bear 
hand on it ; chips 1/8 x 1/8 x 3/32 inch stalled the motor, 
etc. 

From these notes the superintendent can make out a 
capacity table for each machine. It will be a table giv- 
ing the maximum that the machine can safely stand. It 
will be the output measuring stick. For instance, the 
capacity table for the above cylinder boring lathe would 
look like Table III. 

The explanation of Table III is as follows: 

Table III — Capacity Table for No. 98 Drapier Boring Lathe 
12 Cubic Inches per Minute — Speeds, 28-48 Feet per Minute 









Cut % in. 


Cut Y 2 in. 


Cut V& in. 


Cut y n. 


Cut y in. 


Diam 


Rev. 


Ft. 


Deep 


Deep 


Deep 


Deep 


Deep 


• in. 






Feed 


Cu. 
in. 


Feed 


Cu. 
in. 


Feed 


Cu. 
in. 


Feed 


Cu. 
in. 


Feed 


Cu. 
in. 


30 


4^ 


35 


1 

32 


8 


1 

16 


13 


1 

16 


9H 


H 


13H 


y 


i2y 


24 


4^ 


28 


1 
16 


13 


1 
16 


103^ 


1 
16 


8 


y 


103^ 


y 


loy 


22 


8V 2 


48 


1 
32 


11 


1 
32 


9 


1 
32 


7 


1 

16 


9 


y 


9 


18 


sy 


40 


1 
32 


9 


1 
32 


W2 


1 
16 


11 


1 
16 


7y 


y 


7y 


14 


sy 


33 


1 
32 


7K 


1 
16 


12 


1 
16 


9 


y 


12 


y 


12 


10 


14K 


38 


1 
32 


9 


1 
32 


7 


1 
16 


11 


1 

16 


7 


y 


7 


8 


143^ 


30 


1 
32 


7 


1 
16 


11 


1 
16 


sy 


y 


11M 


y 


ny 


7 


26 


48 


1 
32 


11 


1 
32 


9 


1 
32 


7 


1 

16 


9 


y 


9 


6 


26 


42 


1 
32 


10 


1 
32 


8 


1 
16 


11M 


1 
16 


8 


y 


8 


5 


26 


34 


1 
32 


8 


1 
16 


12% 


1 
16 


9H 


y 


12 H 


y 


12H 



Spindle speeds, 234-143^; 132-8^; 80-4^; 47-23^: 26-1^. 

The table was made for the No. 98 Drapier boring 
lathe covering all the feed and speed combinations that 
could produce a cutting output of approximately 12 



CAPACITIES OF MACHINE TOOLS 187 

cubic inches per minute. Similar sheets were made out 
for 10 cubic inches, 8 cubic inches, etc. These were re- 
ferred to in making cutting tests to avoid figuring each 
time. Taylor uses a slide rule for this. These tables are 
used instead of the slide rule. On each step of each cone 
on each machine in the plant is stamped the spindle 
speeds when the belt is on that step. This is to get rid of 
using a watch and is used by the workmen in selecting 
speeds. A single back geared machine has two of these 
numbers on each step of the cone. 

The Drapier boring lathe cone steps are stamped 
234-14 1 /o, 132%-8%, 88-4%, etc. These are the revolu- 
tions per minute that the spindle of the machine runs. 
When the belt is on the 132 1 /i>-8 1 /2 step the spindle runs 
1321/0 revolutions per minute with the back gears out 
and 8!/2 revolutions per minute with gears in. These 
speed figures are put at the bottom of the table -for the 
Drapier boring lathe, as shown above. 

Holding Machines to Their Work 

This seems like a lot of work, but there is nothing the 
superintendent can do that will prove so profitable to the 
firm. It will bring him face to face with the fact that 
the output of his plant is mighty poor. The foremen 
will get interested in the output at the point of the tool 
and become faddists on the subject. The workmen soon 
learn what the correct cutting speeds are. 

A plant is like a family with a lot of children. All 
cannot become great producers. Some are weaklings. 
The machines are the children of a plant. They all have 
different capacities for work, and no fixed iron-clad rule 
can be laid down for all alike. A machine having the 
power of drive and power of feed capable of taking off 
12 cubic inches of cast-iron chips per minute should be 
held up to this rate. Not only the cutting capacity of 



188 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

each of the older machines, but the cutting capacity for 
each step of the cone on each machine has to be found by- 
test on the machines regular work, and a table made out 
for the machine. Cutting capacity ( cubic inches of iron 
removed per minute) is more important than cutting 
speeds. It is possible, even on an old, weak machine, to 
take a cut at over 1000 feet per minute if the amount of 
metal removed per minute is kept small. Nothing 
counts but cubic inches of metal removed per minute. 

Superintendent vs. Machine Salesman 

A great thing about the superintendent's taking up 
this work personally is that it puts him in a position 
where he knows absolutely what to specify when he or- 
ders new machine tools. New tools are not as yet up to 
the capacity of the tool steel, except in a very few cases. 
Any one who buys a heavy cutting tool that is not able 
to burn the tool steel easily is buying what will be an ob- 
solete machine in a few years. One cannot depend on 
what the tool salesman says, yet, if the superintendent is 
not an authority on cutting speeds, feeds, cubic inches 
per minute and capacity of modern tool steels, how can 
he intelligently select a machine tool to do his work? 

The machine salesman will tell him that a feed of 5 
inches per minute is the practical limit on milling work. 
He will try to sell a machine to run at a cutting speed of 
60 feet per minute when it ought to run 75, 80 or 90 feet 
on cast-iron milling. His reason is that he knows that 
his machine lacks the horsepower to take the heavy feeds 
and speeds. 

The salesman will say that this is what certain other 
shops, which he mentions, are doing. Now here is just 
the point: The firm should be turning out 20 or 50 per 
cent, more on their machine tools than these shops. 



ARTICLE XVIII 
CORRECT SELECTION OF MACHINES 

The Economical Range of Production for Which 
Each Machine in the Shop Should Be Adapted 
— What Limits Machine Production 

THE different operations in a machine shop are 
few in number. They are the machining off of a 
flat surface, the turning off the outside of a cylin- 
drical surface, the machining the inside of a cylin- 
drical surface (boring) , drilling, tapping and threading. 
For each of these operations there are a number of styles 
of machine tools from which to select. 

For machining a flat surface the milling machine, the 
planing machine or the shaping machine, the lathe or 
boring and turning machine, or the different forms of 
grinding machines may be used. In general, the disk 
grinding machine will turn out two to three times the 
work that the milling machine will do, and the milling 
machine twice as much as the other machines in a given 
length of time. 

The Field of the Grinding Machine 

The disk grinding machine will surface pieces 6x6 
inches and under, of unrelieved surface, or 36 square 
inches in actual surface, at a speed of 18 square inches 
per minute. On larger work than this the grinding pres- 
sure becomes so reduced that the work will be turned out 
more slowly than on the other types of machines that do 
surface machining. 



190 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

The grinding machine's field of work is on pieces that 
may be trued up by taking off but little metal. One of 
its advantages, over the other forms of machine tools 
that do surface machining, is that it requires practically 
no chucking fixtures. The time and expense of chuck- 
ing the work is eliminated, the work being held on the 
grinding table by hand. This makes machining prac- 
tically a continuous process. 

For small faces that are to be hand scraped, inexpen- 
sive little emery wheels are available. These are 
equipped with a longitudinal and cross slide carriage 
that will finish the work as true or truer than can be done 
by hand scraping, and in one-third the time. Such a 
machine will pay for itself in two or three months. For 
larger surfaces expensive cup-shaped wheel grinding 
machines of great output capacity and low operating 
cost per piece, are on the market. 

Advantages of the Milling Machine 

The milling machine is a rapid producer because cut- 
ting speeds of 70 to 90 feet per minute can be used where 
60 or 70 feet per minute is the limit of a lathe or boring 
mill. Several cutters are working at the same time, com- 
pared to one, or at the most two, in other forms of fac- 
ing machines. One piece can be chucked and unchucked 
while the machine is working on another, making the 
machining practically continuous. Two or three faces 
of a piece can be machined at one pass on a planer type 
milling machine with a number of heads. With this 
style of machine the machining cost is extremely low. 

High cutting speed is possible on the milling machine 
because each cutter cuts only part of the time, and the 
cutter edge has a chance to cool between cuts. The 
milling machine has an enormous output when used with 
the cutter head or facing head. It will operate with a 



CORRECT SELECTION OF MACHINES 191 

linear feed of 10 inches per minute on cast-iron surfaces 
on coarse work and 4 inches per minute on fine work, 
such as surfaces that are to be hand scraped. The lathe 
or boring machine can not compete with the milling ma- 
chine feeding at these speeds. 

The spindle of the milling machine should be at least 
one-third the diameter of the cutter head. A weak 
spindle will spring, making an untrue milled face, unless 
the rate of feed is reduced. This is especially noticeable 
when machining a face that is partly interrupted and 
partly solid and broad. If the cutter head were backed 
up near its edge with a bearing shoe the maximum speed 
and feed could be taken with no danger of the spindle 
springing. The spring back of the cutter head would 
be no greater than the down spring of a planer table. 

A feed of 10 inches per minute can be maintained with 
a stiff spindle A feed of 2l/o inches per minute only 
can be maintained if the head and spindle springs. This 
is a 400 per cent, difference in the output of the machine. 

Different Styles of the Milling Machine 

The vertical milling machine is best adapted to small 
and flat work. If the surface milled stands high above 
the table, the horizontal pressure of the cut throws a 
heavy strain on the chucking fixtures or strapping-down 
bolts. High work tends to lift the table from the bed, 
and this produces chatter. 

The horizontal spindle machine is free from the above 
faults. It is the ideal machine for fast and heavy cut- 
ting, as all the strain comes straight down upon the 
table. This strain, when cutting steel, may run as high 
as 100 tons on a powerful machine doing heavy work. 

The milling machine table should be 6 or 8 feet long. 
The long table keeps the wrench, used in strapping down 
the work, away from the revolving cutter head, and 



192 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

gives the workman plenty of room to chuck and un- 
chuck pieces while the machine is on other work, thus 
getting a continuous output from the machine. 

In handling a machine under the continuous system 
of cutting it is better to do the work in two sections, one 
at each end of the table. The machine should mill the 
piece or pieces at one end while the workman is chuck- 
ing and unchucking at the other. Having a piece or 
pieces at each end of the table is better than placing them 
in a continuous line. In this way the operator will not 
drop into the habit of waiting for all the pieces to be fin- 
ished before chucking a new lot. He will not hold the 
machine idle while he chucks these. 

The advantage of the above method of arranging the 
work, instead of filling the table in a continuous line 
from end to end, is shown in the following example of 
work done on a Brown & Sharpe No. 5 milling machine. 
Pieces with a 5% x 6 inch face were to be machined by 
a cutter head 7% inches in diameter, running at a speed 
of 40 r.p.m. This gave a cutting speed of 77 feet per 
minute. The depth of cut varied from to % inch, or 
an average of % inch. Each piece required 2 minutes 
when arranged in a continuous line, as against l 1 /^ min- 
utes when chucked in two groups, one at each end of the 
table. The two operations may be analyzed as shown 
below. Two men, a machinist and a helper, operated 
each machine. 

Continuous line milling: 

Start cut on 7 pieces. 

Helper starts unstrapping. 

Both wait for cut to finish. 

Cut finished. Start taking off the three remaining pieces 

and brushing off the chips from the table. 
Pieces all off, still brushing off chips. 
Start placing seven new pieces. 
Square pieces up with a straight edge. 
Both men pull straps down tight. 



min. 


sec. 


4 min. 


25 sec. 


6 min. 


25 sec, 


7 min. 


15 sec, 


9 min. 


15 sec 


9 min. 


55 sec, 


10 min. 


40 sec, 


11 min. 


55 sec. 



1 min. 


25 sec. 


1 min. 


30 sec. 


1 min. 


45 sec. 


2 min. 


35 sec. 


Cycle 


completed. 



CORRECT SELECTION OF MACHINES 193 

13 min. 10 sec. Pieces secure. Run table back and feed up to take cut, 

using index dial on feed screw to set machine for cut. 
13 min. 25 sec. Start cut. 
Cycle complete. 1 minute, 55 seconds on each. 

Below is the cycle of operations analyzed when ma- 
chining the same job one piece at each end of the table: 

min. sec. Run table to right end by power rapidly. This mechanism 
was put on the machine after it was installed in the 
shape of two sprocket wheels and a chain belt. 
min. 10 sec. Feed in casting to correct depth of cut. Set this by mi- 
crometer dial. 
min. 25 sec. Cut started on left end casting. Operator and helper 
change casting at right end of table. 
Cut finished. 

Run table rapidly to other end by power. 
Cut started on casting at right end. 
Run table to right end. 

1 minute, 17 J^ seconds on each casting. 

Cutter Heads 

The cheapest way to make a small cutter head or fac- 
ing head is to machine slots in the edge or circumference 
of the head, drive in steel cutters and peen the metal in 
the cutter head along the side of the cutters. All cut- 
ters should be put in at an angle so that the chip will be 
lifted from the work — not scraped off as is the case 
where the cutter is put in square. The easiest way to cut 
the slots is to first drill holes where the ends of the slots 
are to come, and then plane from the edge back into 
these holes. Afterward fill the holes by driving pins in- 
to them. 

Avoid the all geared headstock lathe. It has too much 
machinery in it. The three-step cone pulley head lathe 
with a two-speed countershaft is better even for electric 
drive because it costs less and is more durable. 

The modern powerful engine lathe equipped with 
cross- feed and longitudinal stock will turn work out so 
fast that the operator will be kept busy taking pieces 
out and putting them in. 



194 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

I have seen the work come from such a lathe so hot on 
account of the high cutting speed that the operator 
had to wear cotton gloves. 

Working with two arbors and two lathe dogs he would 
barely have time to press out one arbor from a piece, put 
it into another piece and put on the lathe dog during the 
time the lathe was doing the machine work on a piece on 
the other arbor. 

The Gang Drilling Machine 

Gang drilling machines are gigantic producers. So 
much so that they are used for all sorts of machine op- 
erations that in former years would not have been 
thought suitable for a drilling machine. 650 bushings 
3 inches long, having a 15/16-inch hole through them can 
be bored, reamed and faced in a day. 400 bushings 4!/o 
inches long, having a 2 7/16-inch hole through them can 
be bored, reamed and faced in a day. 

All the 32 machine operations on 70 pump cylinders, 
such as are used on the tank wagons of threshing en- 
gines, can be done in a day by a man and his helper on a 
gang drill. This shows what a gigantic output such a 
machine has. 

Gang drilling machines are suitable only where du- 
plicate pieces are turned out by the thousand because the 
expense of jigs, fixtures and tools runs very high. A 
four-spindle gang drilling machine generally requires 
four or five expensive jigs for each individual size of 
piece turned out. This means four or five times the jigs 
and tools that a regular drilling machine would take on 
the same work. 

In most plants the gang drilling machine stands idle 
because duplicate work enough cannot be found to pay 
for the expensive equipment of jigs, fixtures and tools. 



CORRECT SELECTION OF MACHINES 195 

Limit Machine Production by Strength of Piece Worked 

A machine should be powerful enough to do the work 
rapidly. The point that limits the output of a machine 
tool should be the strength of the piece worked on after it 
has been strengthened to resist a heavy cut. It should 
not be the power of the machine tool or the strength of 
the chucking apparatus. The work should be held in a 
fixture so secured and the machine should be so power- 
ful, the feed and speed of the cut should be so great that 
any increase would distort the work or break it. 

This rule secures the cutting limit, but how little is it 
being followed ! The writer recalls a chucking lathe that 
was boring a 2-inch hole in a steel bar, using a Celfor 
drill. The feed was % inch per minute. The correct 
feed for this size of drill in steel is 3 inches per minute. 
On speeding up the machine and increasing the feed, 
the belt slipped. By tightening the belt the feed was 
brought up to % inch per minute, but the strain was so 
great on the machine that the teeth on the back gear tore 
out. The %-inch feed was too heavy for the machine. 
The %-inch feed was about the limit of its capacity. 

Here was a machine whose output was only one-eighth 
of what it should be. The output on this operation could 
have been increased eight times. This is not an increase 
of 25 per cent, nor 50 per cent, but 800 per cent. If one 
of the office employees worked one hour per day and 
demanded eight hours' pay he would be thrown out. 
Yet that is what the chucking lathe was doing every day. 
Make the piece worked on decide the limit of the speed 
and not the machine tool. In this case it was the ma- 
chine tool that settled the speed of output. 

The limit of speed at which a piece of work can be 
machined is probably from ten to twenty times faster 
than is done on the average. The limit is unknown. 
Take, for instance, the boring of a 22-inch cylinder. One 



196 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

roughing cutter in a boring head, cutting 35 feet per 
minute with a depth of % inch on a side and 9/32-inch 
feed, will remove 14.72 cubic inches of metal per minute. 

Put in six cutters, each with a feed of 9/32 inch, or a 
total feed of 1 11/16 inches per revolution. If the cylin- 
der is 15 inches long, the roughing cut would be taken in 
one minute. This is ten to twenty times faster than is 
done on the average, and shows what is possible if we go 
to the limit. The casting might have to be straightened 
and well supported in a jig. Assuming % hp. per cubic 
inch of metal removed per minute, this machine would 
require a 45-hp. motor. The drive and feed gearing, the 
whole machine, in fact would have to be designed to take 
care of this power. ' 

The same proposition is true on the milling machine. 
Say 10 cubic inches per minute is a conservative estimate 
of the capacity of a single cutter. With cutters located 
close together in the cutter head so that six cutters would 
cut at the same time, 60 cubic inches per minute would.be 
the output. Sixty cubic inches per minute means machin- 
ing a face 10 x 48 inches to a depth of % inch each min- 
ute. This would take a 30-hp. motor and a machine built 
in proportion. If the milling machine were built strong 
enough and the piece worked on stiff enough to stand 
the strain of the cut, the above would be practical; that 
is, the tool steel would stand this cut. Are many doing 
this ? No. That is why I say the average output can be 
increased ten to twenty times. 

We do not know what the limit of drilling speed is. 
In a test, on cast iron, a l^-inch drill drilled 30 inches 
deep in one minute. This was the limit of the drilling 
machine, but not the limit of the twist drill. 



ARTICLE XIX 
MACHINING OF CYLINDERS 



Proper Sequence of the Various Operations — 
Advantages of Different Types of Drilling 
Machines — A Cheap Tapping Machine 



WHEN machining cylinders, it is best to mill 
them first and bore them afterwards. The fol- 
lowing is a good sequence of operations : Catch 
the cylinders on the flanges in a line of chucks on the 
table of the milling machine. The chucks could be sim- 
ilar to the one shown in Fig. 24 so that the cylinders 
would rest on four fixed points, two at each end of the 
cylinder. These bearing places 
catch the under side of the flange 
about 45 degrees on either side of 
the vertical axis. Mill off one end 
of the cylinder. Chuck the flange 
end against an angle block and mill 
the other end. Finally mill the re- 
maining faces. 

If there is enough duplicate work 
to make it pay, the cylinders should 
be milled in a machine with a cutter 
head on each side of the table and possibly with the third 
cutter on top. One pass will then finish both ends and 
one side of the cylinder. Such a machine would cost 
$10,000, however, and the firm should have enough work 
to keep all three heads going all the time in order to make 
it pay. No matter what kind of machine is used, the op- 




Fig. 24— Jig for Holding 

a Cylinder During the 

Milling Operation 



198 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

erator should take off the machined cylinders and put on 
the rough ones while the machine is cutting, thus making 
milling a continuous operation. 

Boring the Cylinders 

From the milling machine the cylinders go to the bor- 
ing machine. Several methods may be used for this pro- 
cess. The cylinders can be chucked in a lathe and re- 
volved, the boring being done with a stationary bar and 
cutter. They can be bored four at a time in a fixture on 
the carriage of a standard high power engine lathe. The 
lathe should be rigged with four parallel boring bars 
geared to the lathe spindle. They can be bored in a 
special boring lathe, having two spindles that bore from 
one end The carriage of this machine has a turntable 
with bolted-on angle plates against which the ends of the 
cylinders are strapped, the castings having been milled 
before boring. While the machine is boring cylinders at 
the headstock end of the turntable the operator is remov- 
ing the bored cylinders and putting on rough ones at 
another point on the turntable. This gives a maximum 
output from the machine and operator with a minimum 
pay-roll expense. 

One man on the milling machine and one man on the 
boring lathe can turn out 100 4 or 5 inch cylinders per 
day ready for drilling. A small floor area thus is very 
productive. This special boring lathe in some cases is 
made very elaborate by having a milling head travel 
across the end of the cylinders at the tailstock end of the 
table. The machine then bores and mills the cylinders 
at one chucking. 

Using the Drilling Machine 

A powerful three or four-spindle heavy gang drilling 
machine might be used, the cylinders being set on end 
on the machine table in a suitable set of chucks for bor- 



MACHINING OF CYLINDERS 199 

ing. With this outfit the output would be controlled by 
the speed at which a man can chuck and unchuck cylin- 
ders and change cutters. If the cylinders are cast in 
pairs, they will be bored one casting at a time. If the 
cylinders are single bore castings, two castings are bored 
simultaneously. 

Cylinders can also be bored vertically under very 
heavy drilling machines made for this work. Three sin- 
gle machines, side by side, run by one operator, will turn 
out more work and cost less than the two double special 
vertical machines usually bought. 

The jig may be arranged so that after boring one side 
it can be moved over a fixed distance to bore the other 
cylinder. This style of boring machine allows the work- 
man to chuck and unchuck the work while the machine 
is cutting on other casting. The number of machines 
that one man runs can be increased until the maximum 
output is obtained from the man. Vertical boring has the 
advantage over horizontal boring of letting the hot chips 
drop clear. This keeps the cutter cool. 

Advantages of Different Machines 

Machine tool makers have not taken full advantage of 
the improvement in tool steel, especially as to drilling 
machines. Few radial drilling machines will drill to the 
destructive limit of a 2%-inch drill in cast iron, say, a 
feed of from 15 inches to 30 inches per minute. Such a 
machine would do all the work for a large plant, one 
man running it and a second man bolting down the 
pieces and removing them. The drilling cost on a piece 
would be practically nothing. Many pieces under such 
circumstances would be drilled rather than cored, as 
drilling would be cheaper than coring. 

A radial drilling machine will turn out work nearly 
twice as fast as a machine with a fixed spindle, because 



200 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

the moving of the drill from one hole to the next is done 
quickly on the radial tool and very slowly on the other 
style. 

For all small drilling, say %-inch holes and under, use 
a fixed spindle, light, sensitive, hand-feed drilling ma- 
chine. On a sensitive machine the operator can feel 
when the drill catches and can prevent its breaking. 
From %-inch holes up to and including about %-inch 
holes there are powerful little radial drilling machines 
on the market, which can be quickly handled. They have 
a large box table so that the operator can be strapping 
and unstrapping his work while the drilling is going on. 
This machine will drill a l^-inch hole 20 inches deep, a 
%-inch hole 12 inches deep, or a 1-inch hole 6 inches 
deep in 1 minute in cast iron. For %-inch holes and 
larger, and for pipe tap work, use a powerful radial or 
a powerful fixed spindle drilling machine with a table 
that can be moved across under the spindle in two direc- 
tions. 

The combination of a radial drilling machine set next 
to a horizontal one having a car with a turntable on it 
will save about three-quarters of the chucking and 
handling time on all large work if the car track runs 
from the horizontal drilling machine to and under the 
radial tool. 

The horizontal machine will drill all the holes in the 
sides of a casting and the radial will drill holes in the 
top. The casting is strapped down to the turntable and 
revolved to present the four sides to the horizontal drill- 
ing machine. 

Tapping the Cylinders 

A cheap tapping machine can be made on the end of a 
double hinged arm attached to a post. The arm is 
hinged like a jointed wall gas fixture, so that the end can 



MACHINING OF CYLINDERS 201 

be moved over any point of a surface to be tapped. The 
post end will be attached to a heavy vertical bar of fin- 
ished shafting so the machine can be set at any height 
to correspond with the work. The tapping machine, at 
the swinging end of the arms, is driven from the ceiling 
through a telescoping shaft, knuckle jointed at each end. 
This shaft is made from a square bar of key steel, which 
slides in an iron pipe with lead poured around the square 
shaft. Such a machine will do the work of three or four 
hand tappers. 

It is sometimes found better to tap the holes on the 
radial drilling machine at the time of drilling, for this 
saves an extra handling of the pieces. Studding may be 
done on this machine at the same time that tapping is 
done, although not always, as the exact length of the 
studs may not be known. Quick change collets, or 
couplings for drills, taps and stud drivers, speed this 
class of work. 



ARTICLE XX 
BUSINESS MAXIMS 

How Buying for the Factory Should Be Con- 
ducted — Attitude Toward Selling and Manage- 
ment of Salesmen — Fundamentals in Advertising 

IN every plant money may be saved by obtaining bids 
on all material bought; a difference in prices is al- 
ways found for the same grade of material made by 
different firms. 

Never buy in excess of your needs. Over-buying is a 
common fault and a bad one. Every dollar's worth of 
unnecessary stock represents idle capital unnecessarily 
risked. It would be better to place the money that is 
uselessly tied up in rough or finished material out at 
interest. Let it bring in an income. A hand-to-mouth 
plan of ordering is best, provided that sufficient material 
is always on hand or on order to keep the machines sup- 
plied. An idle machine earns no money for the plant. 

Order so that you will receive a small, steady stream 
of material for the machines, just enough so that the 
machines will keep the assemblers busy making finished 
product. Have no stock on hand in the rough or finished 
state except that which is necessary for work moving 
through the plant. This insures all money spent for ma- 
terial and pay roll showing up in finished machines. 

Watching the Cost of Material in Stock Bins 

A %-inch nut costs one cent. A bin full of %-inch 
nuts is the same as a bin full of pennies. Look at your 
piles of stock on hand in this light. Go from bin to bin, 



204 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

shelf to shelf, and rack to rack, with a pencil and paper, 
and estimate the cash value tied up in each. You will 
then begin to see where you can cut down this tied-up 
capital. Let the firm from whom you buy carry your 
stock. 

A system used by some firms is to mark the material 
bins with the maximum and minimum amounts of each 
class of material, rough and finished, to carry in stock 
and the amount to order. This is a good practice, and it 
prevents too much money being tied up in unused stock. 
The clerical labor necessary to carry out this scheme, 
though, should be watched, so that the pay-roll is not in- 
creased. If you have to put on an extra man to look 
after these maximum and minimum quantities, he will 
cost from $700 to $1000 per year. A lot of stock could 
be bought for less than this amount. Every added ex- 
pense of this character should be made to pay for itself, 
and to yield a profit in addition — not a bookkeeping 
profit, but a profit of real dollars at the end of the year. 
If you increase the pay-roll to take care of the stock, you 
must, by means of this added expense, be able to increase 
the profit of some or all of the manufacturing depart- 
ments. If this cannot be done, the change is not worth 
the expense. 

Manufacturing Finished Machines Not Finished Parts 

Run your product through in exact lots. If you de- 
cide to make 25 machines of a certain size, get out the 
material for all the parts of the 25 machines down to the 
last small piece. Run no more parts through than are 
enough for the 25, no matter what the temptation may 
be, to run more of any one piece. If some parts have to 
be scrapped, start through enough more to bring the 
number up to 25. 

Besides the advantage of the great reduction in the 
running capital needed to carry on the business, there 



BUSINESS MAXIMS 205 

will be an enormous gain in space that was previously- 
occupied in storing finished parts. This will give room 
for putting on more men, and thus increase your output, 
and likewise your profit, with no additional buildings or 
ground space. 

Keep in mind that the object of manufacturing is to 
make finished machines, not finished parts. Not long 
ago the author received from an establishment that had 
failed a list of material that it had on hand of which it 
wished to dispose. It showed that the firm had violated 
this rule. They had an overstock of everything. 

The Selling Department 

A firm must have a persistent determined selling sys- 
tem which will dispose of its full plant capacity at the 
least expense. The head of the selling department 
should not spend too large a proportion of his time at 
correspondence with customers, or actual selling, but 
should occupy himself in establishing more and better 
agents and dealers, and in writing to them often. He 
should see that the amount of goods which they sell is in 
correct proportion to the population of the district. 
Each agent and dealer should receive a letter of some 
sort, about selling, from the sales head every few days. 

The firm should have a system of keeping track of the 
daily operations of its traveling men. It is well to send 
out three traveling men, first giving them complete in- 
structions on all the selling points of the product, with 
the route of each laid out. An expense and sales record 
of each man is necessary in order to ascertain the per- 
centage relation between his expenses and the value of 
his orders. 

After three or four months' trial, the traveling man 
whose orders cost the most to get may be replaced by a 
new man. A schedule can be made in time giving the 



206 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

rate of improvement a new man must make to hold his 
job. 

The standing of a salesman should depend upon the 
value of his sales as compared with the business popula- 
tion of his district. The salesman who has the best dis- 
trict should send in the greatest value of orders. A well- 
established district will make selling easy. A man who 
is placed in a district from which few orders in the past 
have come should not be expected to make the sales of 
one who is in a well-established district. 

A salesman should be kept in one district as much as 
possible. He becomes more valuable as he gets ac- 
quainted with the people in the district. People will lis- 
ten to a pleasant fellow the third time he comes around, 
when possibly they won't the first. 

Questions for the Traveling Man 

The traveling man should ask the following questions 
of the possible customer, if he can work them into his 
conversation without causing offense : 

1. "What trade papers do you pay the most attention 
to?" The object of this is to find what papers are best 
to advertise in. 

2. "What time of the year do you generally do your 
overhauling or buying?" The object is to find out when 
to go after this particular man's business; when is the 
best time to send business-getting letters and traveling 
men to his style of business. Selling to be done right, 
should be handled systematically. The salesman, the ad- 
vertising literature, and the trade paper advertising, 
should be sent forth at the time when each dollar spent 
will bring in the greatest return. 

3. "What do you pay for competitors' goods?" 

4. "What objections have you to our product?" 
These objections will be entered in a book kept for this 
purpose. A convincing answer will be thought up for 



BUSINESS MAXIMS 207 

each objection and entered in the book. Make a correc- 
tion in the design of the product, if there is any founda- 
tion for criticism. 

5. "What objections have you to our competitors' 
make of machinery;" Enter these in the book. Sales- 
men must learn the contents of this book, for it will con- 
tain a good series of selling arguments. 

Routing the Traveling Man 

Use the map and tack system for routing traveling 
men. Divide the country into districts, with a very large 
city as a center for each district. Let the traveling man 
for the district live in the large city. This will give a 
low cost of selling in the large city, with no hotel ex- 
penses, and with short trips. Credit the salesman for all 
orders that come from his district. Each district must 
be charged with a pro rate to cover advertising, cata- 
logues, circular letter writing, and expense of head sales 
manager. The pro rate charge will be proportioned to 
each district in accordance with the density of the buy- 
ing population of the district. 

The district where the factory is located will be the 
educational district for new salesmen. Better weeding 
out can be done here, as the new man is under the im- 
mediate eye of the sales manager. 

There are wonderful salesmen in the world ; geniuses 
in their line ; men that can sell anything. A firm must 
never be satisfied with those who barely make good, but 
must keep trying until their men are all wonders. 

The sales manager should instill enthusiasm into trav- 
eling men by frequent talks. When on the road they 
should receive a letter daily from the home office. A let- 
ter received by a man each day about his work is the 
same as a foreman coming around looking over the 
work. Nothing will boost him along like these letters; 



208 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

they prevent discouragement. Dealers should also be 
written to often for the same reason, as stated. 

The names of the firms that are enormous buyers 
should be known, and the amount of business they prob- 
ably could give, and also how much should be spent each 
year in order to obtain their business. Some of these 
concerns may buy enough to make it pay to have a man 
constantly sitting on their door step. 

Selling Just as Tangible as Manufacturing 

Selling must not be considered in a hazy sort of light. 
It must not be considered a case of luck that orders hap- 
pen to come in. Selling is just as tangible a business as 
manufacturing. In proportion to the number of sales- 
men out, agents taking the goods, advertising, etc., will 
be the volume of business taken in. If a manufacturer 
had to double his plant output, he would have to double 
the force of workmen in his plant. The same is true of 
selling. Four salesmen will sell twice as much as two, 
provided they are good salesmen and are well directed, 
and salesmen have to be directed the same as producers 
in the shop. The sales manager has to give his full time 
to directing. The sales manager is a foreman over the 
salesmen. Work would soon be turned out at a loss in 
the shop if the men were not directed. The same is true 
of selling. 

Like manufacturing the selling must be directed on 
the most economical lines. The money spent for ad- 
vertising must be spent where it will bring in the greatest 
return. Each year a firm should have more and better 
dealers than they had the year before, and more and bet- 
ter salesmen. If a firm does not reach out in the selling 
department, it will never be able to reach out in the man- 
ufacturing department. 

Circular letter writing should be pushed to the limit. 
The letters should be written on the regular paper that 



BUSINESS MAXIMS 209 

the firm usually uses, not on a cheap grade of paper. A 
large mail sack of letters should leave the office every 
day. 

The selling price of the product must be as low as that 
of competitors. To make a profit, selling at this price, 
the product must be of an inexpensive design to build, 
the most inexpensive manufacturing methods must be 
used, a maximum output per man must be obtained, the 
overhead expense must be kept down, the material must 
be bought at lowest possible prices and the stock on hand 
must be kept at the minimum. 

The Personality of the Salesman 

The salesman must have energy and enthusiasm. He 
must be of a very pleasing personality. He must be a 
kind of person delightful to have around ; a kind of man 
whose arrival the buyers look forward to. When the 
best salesman comes into an office, generally all work 
stops. He is such a delightful person, such a good all- 
around talker, that all hands sit down and have a regular 
talk feast. Half the battle is won if the customer is 
pleased to see the salesman. 

I remember one of the largest and oldest lathe build- 
ers in Cincinnati related a little incident about selling, 
which illustrates this point of a pleasing personality in 
salesmanship. A man, who in former times had been on 
bad terms with the Cincinnati lathe builder, was in the 
market for twelve lathes and swore that he would not 
buy a lathe from his old enemy under any consideration. 
The Cincinnati lathe builder sent his best salesman to see 
this antagonistic customer. The salesman brought back 
the order for the dozen lathes. The lathe builder asked 
the salesman how he managed to get the order. "Tell 
me just what you said and what he said. Give me the 
whole conversation. Didn't the buyer show great an- 



210 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

tagonism to us." The salesman said: "Yes. He came 
out to see me and started in a regular tirade against our 
firm and our lathes. Said he would let his plant rot 
down before he would buy one of our lathes." The 
lathe builder asked what the salesman did then. The 
salesman said: "I just laughed." "What did he do 
then?" asked the lathe builder. "He just laughed," said 
the salesman. It was the laugh that sold the lathes. 

The Points to Be Made in Advertising 

The object of advertising is to instill into the mind of 
every possible buyer these four things: The firm's 
name ; the location of the firm ; the class of goods manu- 
factured and sold ; and why they are more desirable than 
other firms' goods. 

When getting up an advertisement the advertiser 
should decide what proportion of the space to give to 
each of these four points. That point should be made 
the most prominent which is the hardest to impress on 
the reader ; that point in which he is interested the least. 
This is undoubtedly the firm's name. No matter how 
good an advertisement be, it is a failure if the firm's 
name is not impressed on the reader. A reader will look 
through pages of advertising and never have a firm's 
name impressed on him. This is the one point in which 
he is least interested. 

A manufacturer becomes so familiar with his own 
name that he is liable to overlook the fact that he is 
unknown to the great majority of people. If he doubts 
this, let him ask his traveling men whether or not they 
find people who have never heard of the firm. The trav- 
ing men are coming in contact with such people every 
day. 

The author remembers his general foreman saying of 
an advertisement: "That's a fine, catchy advertise- 
ment." When asked whose advertisement it was, he said, 



BUSINESS MAXIMS 211 

"Oh, I didn't notice. I was only speaking of the adver- 
tisement." 

Once the author's firm sent out a lot of beautiful little 
glass clocks, with its name across the faces in small, neat 
letters. One of the firm went to see a large institution in 
the state which was in the market for its product. The 
head of the institution said: "I am very sorry, but we 
have just ordered. To tell you the truth, I did not know 
there was a pump manufacturer in our state." The 
member of the firm then said: "That little clock ticking 
there on your desk is an advertisement that we sent you." 
The manager picked it up and said: "Well, do you 
know, I have had that on my desk for six months and 
this is the first time I ever looked at the name." 

Few people know the name on their office calendar. 
It is the firm's name that is the hardest thing to impress 
on the reader of an advertisement. This must then be 
given the greatest proportion of the space. 

The second point is locality, which should take up the 
least space, because the name of the town is probably fa- 
miliar to the reader, and is easily impressed on his mind. 
The advertising space must be economically used. 

The third point is what the firm manufactures. A 
small cut of the product, occupying about one-tenth as 
much space as the firm's name, will catch the reader's eye 
and impress this point on him Therefore, cuts should 
be small. 

The fourth point is the descriptive matter. This 
should be changed often. 

Differences to Be Observed in Pamphlets and Catalogues 

The pamphlet that is sent out by mail, with the cir- 
cular letter, should be full of pictures. Reading is men- 
tal work. It requires effort on the part of a person to 
read something in which he is not interested. On the 
other hand, looking at pictures is a recreation. If the 



212 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

tale can be told in pictures, the busy man who gets the 
pamphlet will give it a glance at least before it goes to 
the waste basket. 

The catalogue that is sent in answer to an inquiry 
should be different. It should have both pictures and 
reading matter. In this catalogue should be given all 
the advantages and good points of the product. 

In all styles of advertising literature the firm's name 
should be worked into the reading matter as much as 
possible. It should appear under every cut. For in- 
stance, if the engine is built by Jones & Co., under the 
cut of the 20-hp. engine should be the words "20-hp. 
Jones Engine." In the reading matter will appear, 
"The Jones valve gear is such and such. The Jones gov- 
ernor, etc." The idea when getting up advertising liter- 
ature is to keep in mind that the whole advertisement 
will be lost if the firm's name is not remembered. 

One of the most important points in trade paper ad- 
vertising is the advertisers' index. It is here that the 
buyer turns to find the names of the firms to write to for 
prices. 



INDEX 



■"■ PAGE 

Advertising 9, 206, 208, 210 

Allowance for Fitting 176 

Analysis 103, 113 

Arbor Turning 96, 147, 194 

Ash in Coke 112 

Assembling 18, 19, 41, 57, 58, 148 

Assistants 9 

Automatic Machines 175 

Automobile Engine 29, 39, 41, 107 

B 

Bad Castings : 119, 120, 149 

Bicycle Cost 152 

Bill of Material 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 80, 81, 82 

Blacking 125, 126, 134, 135 

Blast Pressure 116 

Blow Holes 105, 115, 120, 121, 122 

Boiler Firing Rules 173 

Bolt Slots 95, 179 

Boring 147, 159, 160, 176, 184, 185, 186, 187, 195, 197 

Borings 147 

Borings, Melting 114 

Bottom Plates for Molds 143 

Boys 33 

Brass Cutting Steel 181 

Brittle Iron 105, 106 

Buying 10, 87, 188, 203 

C 

Carbon, Graphitic and Combined 105, 108, 109, 123 

Car Wheels 106, 107, 108 



214 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

PAGE 

Cast Holes 90, 91 

Casting Cleaning 135 

Casting Costs 25, 104, 128, 129, 144, 150, 152 

Castings, Heavy 106, 107, 108 

Castings, Light 106, 107, 108 

Castings, Loss of 119, 120 

Casting Reports . . 54, 55, 56 

Catalogues and Pamphlets 211 

Chatter 148, 178 

Chills 108 

Chipping 148 

Clean Iron 105, 107, 116 

Clearance Around Studs and Nuts 95, 100, 101 

Clerical Short Cuts .58, 60, 61, 62 

Close-Grained Iron 103, 105, 106, 107, 110, 115 

Coke 103, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115 

Coke and Iron Proportion 114 

Cold Iron Causes 115, 122 

Cold Iron Effects 115, 122 

Complaints 67 

Continuous Boring 197 

Continuous Drilling 199 

Continuous Milling 190, 191, 192 

Copper Tool 182 

Cores : 119, 199 

Costs 10, 25, 104, 151 

Cost Card 79, 81, 82 

Cost Per Pound 80, 84, 151 

Cost System 16, 43, 45, 46, 52, 55, 57, 58, 69, 70, 87 

Cracking of Castings 108, 123 

Crowded Plant 64, 85, 158 

Cupola, Changes in 106, 108, 109, 110, 111 

Cupola, How to Run 106, 108, 113, 116 

Cutting Capacity 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188 

Cutting Speeds and Feeds. .. ..13, 147, 159, 160, 177, 181, 190 

Cylinder Finish Amount 93 

Cylinder Machining 159, 160, 197 

Cylinders 106, 107, 108 



INDEX 215 

^ PAGE 

Depreciation 154 

Design 10, 13, 89, 101, 148, 149 

Design Number or Combination Number 49, 50, 76, 77 

Dirt in Iron 109, 124, 125 

Disc Grinder 189 

Draft 90 

Drilling 94, 95, 96, 100, 147, 180, 196, 199 

Drill Spotting Marks 96, 148 

Drying Molds 134, 135 

E 

Effect of Different Elements on Iron 103, 109 

Electric Power 169 

Employes and Assistants 10 

Engine Lathe 96, 164, 176, 179, 193, 195 

Enlarging Plant 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158 

Equipment 153, 154, 155, 156, 166, 171, 175, 176 

Erecting Department Reports 18, 19, 57 

F 

Pacing 189 

Palse Moves 39, 130, 148, 150 

Feeding Speed 13, 147, 159, 160, 177, 179, 181, 190 

Filing 148 

Finish Allowance 13, 92, 93, 94, 148 

Fixtures and Jigs 95, 96, 148, 168, 176, 190, 197 

Flasks for Foundry 142, 143 

Floor, Charges for Floor Space 154 

Fluid Iron 105, 109 

Fluorspar 1 14 

Flux : 114 

Fortune Making 9, 10, 13, 30, 43, 86, 89, 98, 151, 152, 153, 

156, 161, 165, 204 

Foundry 103, 156, 157 

Foundry Cost Reduction 25, 39, 40, 90, 91, 104, 105, 110, 112, 

113, 114, 127, 149, 150 

Foundry Order System 54, 55, 56 

Foundry Reports 21, 22, 23 



216 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

G PAGE 

Gang System Assembling (Auto) 41 

Gang System of Molding 127 

Gang Drilling 194, 198 

Gas in Mold and Cores 120, 121, 122 

Gating Molds 124 

Gearing 170, 178 

Generators 173 

Graphic Diagrams 17, 23 

Grinding . . . 189, 190 

H 

Hard Iron 105, 106, 107, 109 

Heavy Castings 106, 107, 109 

Hole Clearance Table 95 

Holes Cast 90, 91, 95 

Horizontal Drill , 200 

Hot Iron 110, 113, 115, 116, 123 

Hours vs. Wages 19 

Hydraulic Work 106 

I 

Improvements, When to Make 153, 154, 159 

Increasing Output 12, 16, 28, 29, 30, 43, 85, 183, 204 

Index Dials 179 

Inspection 10, 38, 176 

Iron Mixtures 103, 104, 105, 107, 109 

J 

Jar Ram Molding 127, 132, 133, 134, 149, 150 

Jigs and Fixtures 95, 96, 148, 168, 176, 190, 194 

L 

Lathe 96, 164, 176, 179, 193, 195 

Letter Writing ' 207, 208 

Light Castings • . 106, 107, 109 

Limestone . . . 114 

Lining Cupola 116, 117 



INDEX 217 

PAGE 

Loafing 30, 44, 148 

Losing Money 147, 148, 149 



M 

Machine Castings 106, 107, 108 

Machine Location 16 

Machine Molding 127, 150 

Machine Operations 189 

Machine Shop 147 

Machine Shop Order System 16, 17, 55, 56, 57, 60 

Machine Shop Reports 18, 19 

Machine Selecting 153, 155, 175, 188, 189, 195 

Machine Tool Specifications 178, 191 

Malleable Iron 106, 107, 108 

Manganese 105, 110, 117 

Milling Machine 147, 177, 188, 189, 190, 196 

Mixture of Iron by Analysis 103, 113 

Molding 127 

Motors 169, 170, 171 

N 

Naming Parts 101 

Night Shift 157 

Northern and Southern Iron 108 

O 

Off Grade Iron 103, 104, 105, 110, 113 

Office and Shop Order Forms 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 71, 

75, 76, 79, 81, 82, 83 

Order System at Machines 16, 17, 55, 56, 57, 60 

Ornamental Castings 106, 107, 108 

Output, Average 25, 147, 149 

Output to be Attained 25, 144, 150, 152, 157, 159, 161, 164, 195 

Overhead Expense 43, 44, 46, 89, 158, 161, 162, 163, 204 

Overhead Expense Reports 18, 19, 22, 74, 75, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 

Overload of Motors 171, 172 



218 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

P PAGE 

Pattern Design 90, 92, 93 

Pattern Draft 7 90 

Patterns for Molding Machine 131, 137, 142 

Patterns, Metal 144 

Pattern Shop Reports 18, 19, 82 

Patterns, Keeping Track of 59, 60 

Pay Roll 22, 161, 162 

Phosphorus 105, 106, 108, 109, 110 

Physical Endurance 28, 40, 42, 132 

Piece Work and Bonus System 38, 39, 40, 42 

Pig Beds 116 

Power 149, 169 

Power Consumption 179, 196 

Power Factor 173 

Pouring Molds 124 

Profit 161 

Pro rate 74, 75, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 

Publicity 9, 206, 208, 210 

Pump, Hand 151 

R 

Radial Drill 199 

Red Tape 34, 43, 149 

Repairs 96, 97, 171 

Reports for Superintendent 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 29, 21, 22, 23 

Roller Bearings 170 

Routine of Superintendent 14, 15 

Routing Clerk's Location 12 

Routing System. . . 16, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 60, 63, 64 

S 

Samples for Analysis 110, 111, 112, 117 

Scrap, Use of 103, 104, 105, 110, 112, 113, 115, 116 

Selecting Machines for Work 165, 175, 197 

Selecting Workman and Assistants, 9, 14, 19, 23, 26, 27, 28, 

29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 42 

Selling 9, 162, 205 

Selling Price 9, 11, 84, 151, 152, 209 



INDEX 219 

PAGE 

Semi-Steel 110, 111, 114 

Seven Points of Success 9, 10 

Shaking out Molds 128, 132, 157, 158 

Shafting 169 

Shot Iron 115 

Shipping Date Promise 63, 64, 65, 66 

Shrinky Iron 105, 108, 123 

Silicon 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110 

Skim Gate. 124 

Slag 113, 114, 116 

Smooth Castings 133, 135 

Smoke Prevention 173 

Soft Iron 105, 106, 107, 108, 116 

Southern and Northern Irons 108 

Specialty Workers 40, 42 

Spongy Iron 105, 106, 108, 109, 115, 123 

Squeezer Molding Machine 129, 130, 149, 150 

Stealing .- 34, 35 

Steel Scrap 110, 111, 114 

Stimulating Foreman and Assistants 14, 19, 23, 29, 207 

Stone Coal 1, 26 

Stops, Tool 176, 177, 193 

Stove Plate 106, 108 

Strength 98, 99, 105, 106, 110 

Studding 201 

Success vs. Luck 9, 10 

Sulphur 103, 107, 109, 110, 111, 114, 115, 116 

Superintendent's Duties, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 24, 34, 48, 49, 183 
Superintendent's Office 12 



Tapping Machine 200 

Tapping and Threading 94, 95, 99, 100, 200 

Testing Tool Steel 181 

Threads, U. S. and V 99, 100 

Through Holes 94, 95 

Time Checking 70, 72, 73, 74, 76 

Time Schedule 63, 64, 65, 66 

Time Slips 71 



220 SHOP AND FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT 

PAGE 

Time Studies, 33, 39, 40, 42, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 144, 

150, 160, 164, 165, 166, 167, 192, 198 

Tool Steel 177, 181, 199 

Tool Holders 177 

Tool Pressure 179, 191 

Tool Shape 182 

Transmission of Power 169 

Training Mechanics 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 

Traveling Men 205, 209 

Treatment of Employes and Assistants .27, 36, 38 

Turning 147, 179, 181 

Turret Tool Post 176 

U 

Understudies 27 

V 

Venting 123, 131 

Vertical Milling 191 

W 

Wage Checking 72, 73, 74 

Wage Rates 19, 35, 36, 39, 42, 158 

Wages High, Payroll Low 19, 27 

Watching Departments 13, 14, 15, 19, 34, 73, 74 

Weak Iron 105, 106, 109, 110 

Wheel Turning 164 

Weight Checking 20, 21 



SEP 



W 



